The Relationships Between French, British And Indians in the New World.

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Ben Jacques

The Relations Between French, British And Indians

By the middle of the 18th century trade relations between European colonists were firmly in place. The Indians were a source of trade, labour, land and soldiers. Both sides recognised each other’s importance and leading up to the 7 years’ war Britain and France tried to become the prevailing trade source and ally. Tensions between the British and French developed as each fought for the upper hand in trade and protect land they each claimed.

The Indians developed a trading relationship with the Europeans over time supplying them with pelts and furs for weapons in return. One nation that particularly benefited from European influence was the Five Nations. Their access to European weaponry from New Amsterdam made them very powerful and they conquered much of the North East of America. However in the mid-1660s the British capture New Amsterdam cutting off their trade links as the French and their Indian allies began to attack leaving them defenceless with no weapons, also the British proved inadequate allies. Over the closing period of the 17th century they suffered terrible losses. This lead to the Grand Settlement of 1701 which saw the League pledged neutrality and made agreements with the French that they could hunt on lands north of the Great Lakes and trade with them at Fort Detroit. At the same time an agreement was made with the British that saw them cede the land north of the Great Lakes to them each side knew nothing of either treaty. The Five Nations new area of neutrality gave them leverage over the the two European nations as they lived on the buffer zone of their territories. When the war of Spanish succession erupted the Iroquois both provided military information to the French and gained the benefits from the ally Britain being gifted arms, trade goods and other supplies. The war weakened both sides and enriched the Iroquois. The Iroquois benefitted from the two nations struggle by exploiting the flow of information and the smuggling trade. The Five Nations grew back to the power they once were through neutrality.

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Britain’s main relationship with the Indians was through the Iroquois and Five Nations. They first traded but as mentioned earlier as Britain took New Amsterdam they became allies. This relationship was reinforced by the province of Pennsylvania. When the state was founded in 1681 it offered open and fair terms on trade and attracted many Indians, their lack of militia only served to improve relations as the Indians knew they posed no threat. This lead to many Indians settling nearby, they effectively acted as protection for the state. However as the colonists began to expand and take more land the ...

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