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Where Do We Begin?

 Trying to decide this was probably the hardest decision to make. There are so many resources out there that discuss the events leading up to the RevoWar (yeah, I just said that, don't judge). I certainly don't need to repeat things that have been rehashed to you a million times over, but I did want to at least set the stage. 

I also want to share my resources thus far with you. The first is a podcast called Revolutions by Mike Duncan. I found him when I was going through a French Revolution mini obsession brought on by A Girl in the Fireplace. For those who aren't geeks yet, that's an episode of Doctor Who- an AMAZING episode. Anyway, in trying to find more info about Louis the XIV, I stumbled upon his episode. There wasn't really much about the Louis I was looking for, or about Madame de Pompadour, who I was really interested in, but I sure learned a TON!! But Mike Duncan talks about a LOT of Revolutions, including the American one. He tells you much of what I'm not going to because you should totally listen to him, too. :D

I've also read a handful of books. I've completed two of Ron Chernow's- one about Alexander Hamilton and one about George Washington- I even sent him an email begging him to write one about John Trumbull (side tangent- if you haven't seen the deleted song from Hamilton called "No John Trumbull" you should.) Then I read a book about John Jay, then Mike Duncan's book on Lafayette (I will definitely be reading this again, mainly because Lafayette's wife Adrienne, might be my favorite character in history). I just finished David McCullogh's book on John Adams. I still get teary eyed when these presidents die. They've been gone for like, 200 years, but their lives mean so much to me!

I won't even get started on the booklist still in my queue- some I can only get through audible, which I don't have a subscription to yet, so I'm trying to talk myself into that.

Anyway, I digress. I also rely on the good 'ol internet. I'm not talking about Wikipedia pages, though I do use their handy sidebar info often when trying to connect characters. It's a good thing Google isn't pay per search or I'd be in as much debt as Thomas Jefferson was. Mostly I like to look up specific paintings mentioned in the books I'm listening to. YouTube is great for battle reenactments,  current history tours, and big picture overviews.

As for my own family inclusions, Family Search and Ancestry have been vital to the information I've found. I am still learning how to access all the goldmines that lie in those websites, but each time I chip away at a rock and get a glimmer, I get such a thrill! I feel like Anne Shirley in the White Way of Delight!

Anywho- I finally decided where to start today's little chat. We gotta go back a bit. Before I started studying this, 200 years ago was just.... 200 years ago. I had no idea the actual time things were happening. Until I started actually making a physical timeline of events, I had no idea how spread out the events of our country's foundation were.

Our story will begin  in 1754. FIFTY FOUR. Do the math here- the Declaration of Independence wasn't signed until 1776, twenty two years later. Ok, back to '54. This is when the French and Indian War started. This was actually a global conflict that was being fought on both sides of the Atlantic. On our side, where it is most relevant to us, the British were fighting the French. We were British then, and our own George Washington was a big part of that war for the British. Where did the Indians fit in here? And also, when is ok to say Indians and when does it need to be Indigenous People or Native American? I never know what's proper, but I didn't name this war, so for right this minute, we're going to go with Indians. In general, they sided with the French, but not all of them did. Keep in mind there were several different tribes around, and each had freedom to fight with whichever side they wanted to- or not to fight at all, but it's kind of hard when battles are being fought on your land.

I assume that this war is the reason that Benjamin Franklin suggested that all of our 13 Colonies (although I heard rumor that there was a West Florida 14th colony at once, but I am having a hard time finding info on that) band together and make a government. I really am not sure what all went down there. I will know more when I study Franklin. It will have to be a rewind episode.

Let's jump ahead NINE years. Weird that it's 9 years since on the European side, it was called the 7 Years War. Maybe that's how long they fought on that continent. Anyway- this 9 years later puts us in 1763. The Treaty of Paris is signed, ending the war we just discussed. Hooray for peace, right? Except England realized..... they broke. Wars are expensive, in case you didn't know. And since most of this war was fought in North America, England decided that those who live over there should probably be the ones to pay for said war.

I'm not sure what brought about the Proclamation of 1763 and what it had to do with money, but good 'ol King George III let the people here know that they were not allowed to settle west of the Appellation Mountain range.... which we had just won from the French.  The colonists were not so happy about that.

The next year was 1764, the Sugar Act was passed. Actually- we're not going to talk about that until the next episode-. BUT.... I think it's important that you should know that the colonials were not perfect. They were not always doing everything asked of them, especially by the crown. I could do a whole episode about the colonial economy, but I'm probably the only person who would be excited about that. 

Anyway- I want to know if you had any ancestors who fought in the French and Indian War! And also if any of your ancestors participated in the smuggling of sugar or other goods from the West Indies... 

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