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The French and Indian War: 1660-1763 (Drama of American History)

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"The French and Indian War: 1660-1763" obviously covers much more than the few years during which the English and French fought over the division of the North American continent. In this four volume in "The Drama of American History" series authors Christopher Collier and James Lincoln Collier trace how England's other rivals for control of America were eliminated over this period until the only source of conflict left would be between the British and their own colonials. The authors point out, and I concur, that this period between the establishment of the first colonies (i.e., Plymouth and Jamestown) and the fight for independence, is the most neglected period of American history. This series offers a fairly unique approach to American history by focusing on "core content" rather than a blizzard of names and dates. From this book students will get a good sense of not only what happened but why as England eliminated its competition.

Consequently, this volume offers up six chapters focusing on key issues. The first three chapters of the volume are devoted to the first central theme regarding the struggle between the European powers for control of the North American continent: (1) The European Colonies in the Late Seventeenth Century establishes which parts of North American were controlled (or at least claimed) by European powers and which of these early colonies were actually starting to prosper in the New World; (2) The Dutch and the English in America focuses on how the English eliminated the Dutch and Swedes from the equation; and (3) The Spanish Retreat traces how geographical considerations and contentment with their enormous holdings in elsewhere in the New World stopped the Spanish from expanding their holdings in North America beyond Florida. The Colliers underscore the importance of this by postulating a Latin America that might have begun at the southern border of Virginia.

The chapters in the second half of the volume look a the second central theme, the maturing of the colonies as they turned from outposts of Europe into lands with their own society and culture: (4) Pennsylvania on the Delaware River looks at the colony founded by William Penn as an exemplar colony that gives young readers an idea of how colonies began to grow and prosper; (5) The French and the English in North America studies how by the start of the 18th century only two European nations were contesting for control of North America east of the Mississippi River. But while the English were interested in settling the continent (and the colonies continued to grow and prosper), the French saw it more as a source of products such as timber and fur; and (6) The French and Indian War begins with George Washington's pivotal role in starting this war between European powers in America. Although he participated in two defeats at Fort Necessity and Fort Duquesne, Washington became a military hero to the Colonials. The Colliers detail the course of the war, including the key battle on the Plains of Abraham, and conclude the volume with the short-term effects of the war regarding the new division of the continent between the British and French.

Ultimately the French and Indian War is the key stepping stone to the American Revolution because it was the efforts of the British Parliament to tax the colonials to help pay for both that war and future military efforts in the New World that outraged the sensibilities of Americans. That outraged eventually translated into first the movement and then the war for American independence. As with the other volumes in this excellent series, "The French and Indian War: 1660-1763" keeps the focus on the key chain of events that define the history of this period. The result is that young readers (as well as their teachers) will have a clear sense of the logic, if not the inevitability, of what happened during this time period. The book is illustrated with historical etchings and paintings, as well as contemporary color photographs of historical rennactors and historic buildings. These illustrations help to underscore one of the main threads of this volume, which is the way in which the colonies were becoming more prosperous, which affected their self-image as being the equal of those living in England. As we shall see in the next volume, "The American Revolution: 1763-1783," this belief will run rather contrary to how the English viewed the colonists.