European Military Struggles
Over the past centuries, the European zone has often been characterized with military struggles. These military struggles came about because of the development of numerous different states and their struggle for power. This paper explores on the European military struggle through the method of compare and contrast of the causes and outcomes of the French and Indian war, the American Revolution, and the War of 1812. There exist a number of similarities pegged to the causes of these wars. They include; firstly, all the wars began on the basis of issues relating to struggle for supremacy. More specifically, the French and Indian war was caused by a conflict that ensued between the Great Britain and France. During this period the Great Britain and France desired to gain power and control over the various territories in North America.
The main advantage of gaining control lay in the fact that the powerful territory would easily and readily influence the frontier regions. Similarly, the American Revolution started as a result of discontent among the colonials and disputes linked to the struggle for power between the British and the French (U.S Department of State Office of the Historian, 2013). The French and Indian War is linked to the onset of the American Revolution. The War of 1812 also started as a consequence of power struggles between the French and British, apparently the two most powerful nations then. The fight began at the time when the French Revolution was taking place. During this era, England joined forces with other European Nations and unsuccessfully made attempts towards restoring the French monarchy. The war persisted through when Britain made efforts towards halting the French expansion under the governance of Napoleon I.
Secondly, the wars began as a consequence of increased discontentment among the various parties involved. The 1812 War, partly began because of the annoyance linked to the practice of impressments by Britain. The British government captured American Seamen and recruited them into the British navy. It claimed that they only detained their own people who sailed under the pretense of being Americans while trying to escape from serving in the British army. Though, they only captured their deserters, their actions instilled fear into more than 6000 United States citizens (Tripod; 2013). Similarly, the American Revolution emanated from policies imposed by King George that did not auger well with the Americans. After the French and Indian war, the British government sought to recoup the monetary resources it had used through taxing Americans. The Americans had to pay tax under the Stamp and Townshend Act. Finally, all the wars are connected with the conflicts between the French and British colonies.
On the contrary, the three wars began during different periods. The war of 1812 occurred between 1812 and 1815. The declaration of this war came from President James Madison, who aimed at protecting the American ships from being captured by the British soldiers on the high seas. Additionally, President Madison intended to halt any plans that would make the Native Americans to create alliances with the British colony and assist them in defeating their war-rivals, the French. America and Great Britain had not prepared for this war that ended in a stalemate. The American Revolution started in 1775 and ended in 1783, as a conflict between the thirteen colonies and the Great Britain. The conflict was fueled by the controversy that existed on how the Great Britain treated its colonies. However, the Great Britain held that their colonies were supposed to be utilized to suit the crown. Finally, the French and Indian war happened during the years between 1756 and 1763 (American Revolution;, 2013).
The outcomes of the war are similar in the sense that they all ended with the signing of peace treaties. In 1763, when the French and Indian war culminated, a peace treaty was signed. This treaty, however, led to changes that favored the Great Britain. For instance, the treaty provided the power to Britain to possess the St. Vincent’s, Tobago and Dominic Islands, a Mississippi territory. Britain acquired sovereignty of the entire eastern half of North America. Nonetheless, the treaty allowed free navigation along the Mississippi for both countries. Similarly, at the end of the American Revolution in 1783, a treaty of Paris was signed, and it declared the terms of British surrender. The ratification of this treaty ended the American Revolution, finally making the U.S a free country. Lastly, the War of 1812 ended with the signing of the Ghent treaty in 1814. However, British soldiers attacked New Orleans on January of 1815 unaware of the peace treaty, but they were overwhelmed by the army led by President Andrew Jackson’s (History, 2014).
The wars signify the struggle for power and influence of the British and French governments. These two governments held enough power to conquer and acquire colonies as they desired. However, the conflict of interest always ensued sparking a war that usually ended up with the signing of peace treaties. The struggle for power, through wars has been recognized to be an unreasonable means as the warring states suffer resource losses.
References
American Revolution;. (2013, December 12). The French and Indian War. Retrieved from The American Revoulution.Org: http://www.theamericanrevolution.org/eventdetail.aspx?event=4
History. (2014, January 12). War of 1812. Retrieved from History.com: http://www.history.com/topics/war-of-1812
Tripod;. (2013, November 4). War of 1812. Retrieved from US History War of 1812: http://ushistorywarof1812.tripod.com/
U.S Department of State Office of the Historian. (2013, June 24). Milestones: 1750-1775. Retrieved from U.S Department of State Office of the Historian: http://history.state.gov/milestones/1750-1775/french-indian-war
