This is a small excerpt of an article originally posted on the Penobscot Marine Museum website, which is no longer posted. It has been edited slightly with simplified vocabulary for young readers. Between 1675 and 1763 there was a nearly continuous series of wars in Maine between the British and the French/ Indians (the term at the time for the Native People and the origin of the name "French and Indian Wars"). Both groups wanted Maine’s land and resources. The wars were related to conflicts in Europe at the same time. In King Philip's War (1675-78), the English fought the French and Native People for Castine. During King William's War (1688-99), the French and English fought over Acadia—included Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and much of Maine. The treaty ending this war resulted in the Natives deeding more land to the English. It caused a long-lasting misunderstanding between the Native and non-Native people. Queen Anne's War (1703-1713) : In 1713 the Treaty of Utrecht between France and England gave all of Acadia to English. This caused more disputes between the English and the Native People over land. The French still held Quebec. More wars resulted over the next 50 years: Dummer's War (1722-1727), King George's War (1744-1751), and the French and Indian War (1754-1763). These years were devastating to settlers and Native People alike. From 1689 to 1713, not a single English home stood in Maine north of Wells. English treatment of the Native People worsened the situation. They forced tribal leaders to sign land deeds that were misunderstood. The French encouraged the Native People to attack English settlers. English retaliation against the Natives included bounties on scalps. The French encouraged Maine’s Native People to form the Wabanaki Confederation, making the English even more worried about protecting their settlements in Maine. The English captured French Quebec in 1759, which led to the signing of the Treaty of Paris ending the French and Indian Wars. It also ended the French presence on the Maine coast, resulting in slow, but increased settlement of midcoast and downeast Maine after 1760. All of Canada was given to England. The British issued a proclamation promising Native People the right to keep all the lands they held at the end of the war. Bad feelings between the English and the Native People still existed, however, because the English continued to gradually move into and take over Native lands for farming and hunting. Throughout these wars, Europeans on the coast of Maine created sparse but determined settlements of fishermen, traders, and lumbermen who paid little attention to official developments and proclamations of the English and French nobility. These small settlements of Scotch-Irish fishermen and farmers were the origins of Maritime Maine. Comments are closed.
|
Author
I often struggle to find websites with thorough explanations in simple language to help kids understand historical events or scientific concepts, so I decided to create some of my own! -Cookie Davis
Archives
March 2024
|