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Painting of French general Marquis Louis Montcalm attempting to prevent French-allied "savage" Indians from massacring unarmed, retreating British. 

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This scene represents perhaps one not uncommon during the French-Indian War which took place from 1754-1763, but was merely a single theater of the global Seven Years War. In America, the war saw French and British colonists fighting, each aided by loyalist indigenous tribes. Meanwhile in Europe and the rest of the world, the war saw an Anglo-Prussian coalition fight against the French and its allies. The Seven Years War, and thus the French-Indian War, ended with several treaties in 1763, including the Treaty of Paris (in which France ceded all of their territories in North America for a pair of Caribbean sugar islands) and the Treaty of Hubertusburg (which ended war in Central Europe). The British and their allies were victorious.

However, the war had huge consequences for America. Firstly, the French-Indian war, and consequent withdrawal of France from America directly affected many indigenous peoples. The violence experienced by indigenous peoples during the war inspired the idea of a "pan-Indian" identity and a religious movement, led by Neolin, which inspired Pontiac's Rebellion. This, in turn, led to the Proclamation of 1763, of which, due to the prohibition of land expansion, the British-Americans listed as one of their major grievances and causes for revolution. Secondly, the war was extremely expensive (over £150m in debt) and its cost prompted the

intense taxation of America which the colonists so resented.

It is hard to classify this event under a single lens because it was so encompassing. However, a combination of Neo-progressive and Progressive interpretations seems best because they combine both the economic implications and the consequent social struggles of the war.

Image: from August 10, 1757; "Montcalm trying to stop the massacre"

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Pontiac's rebellion was a war between Native Nations and the British Empire. The British colonizers were land hungry and pushing into Native lands, it is also important to understand that the rebellion was an offshoot of the seven Years war. Knowing that the French had started to lose the Seven Years War, Pontiac launched an attack on British forts in the Area, knowing that it was necessary to win fast and hard because it was obvious to him that Britian was winning the Seven Years War. The plan was recruit Native nations from the Ohio river and southern Canada to push the British out. They were largely succeful, capturing all but 3 forts during the war before Peace was reached. This leads to proclamation of 1763. Separating the land of the Native territories and the British colonialist territories. Leading to a reason for the American British colonies to revolt and cause the American revolution. This rebellion is still used today for First nations peoples advocates in the Canadian government.

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The Proclamation of 1763 (Primary Source Text) was a proclamation by King George III to the colonies which prohibited expansion to the west of the Appalachian mountains. It followed the Seven Years War and aimed to stop colonizers from intruding Indian land (Most likely to avoid more conflicts). Most colonizers did not listen to the proclamation and continued to expand west into Indian lands.

The primary source can interpreted in multiple ways. From one perspective, the proclamation was a Native American success because it gave protections to their lands. However, the proclamation was more likely focused on lowering tensions at the borders and stopping conflicts than giving land rights to the Native Americans. Nonetheless, the proclamation probably led to further tensions than it aimed to halt. Colonizers continued to expand west, creating conflict with Native Americans and Britain for enacting the restriction.
This Proclamation could be looked at by the Imperial lens as Great Britain overstepping by stopping the colonists from expanding. These expansions could also be seen as very predictable by a Neo-Progressive lens because many of those expanding were poor and motivated.

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Geopolitical Influences on the American Revolution - Treaty with France (1778)

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Geopolitical Influences on the American Revolution - Treaty with France (1778)

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The Treatises of Amity and Commerce of 1778 were political agreements between France and America in which France acknowledged America as an independent nation and solidified a military alliance.  The conditions of the agreement included, but were not limited to:
- Military alliance, consisting of mutual protection for one another
- France acknowledging the national sovereignty of the United States
- Land rights concerning Bermuda and other territories surrounding the United States
- Mutual agreement to not enter a treaty with Britain until they acknowledged America's national sovereignty
- Agreement to not seek compensation from one another

The treaty was negotiated by Benjamin Franklin, Silas Deane, Arthur Lee, and Conrad Alexandre Gérard.  Gérard was a French noble and diplomat, who traveled to the United States aboard a battlefleet of French ships with Silas Deane, who had departed to France a few months earlier.  The military alliance was formally ended in 1798 when Congress formally annulled it.  However, it effectively ended in 1794 when George Washington passed the neutrality act of 1794, which effectively invalidated the acts of the treaty.  The military alliance solidified America's connection with France and discouraged Britain from further initiating conflict with America.  The most likely lens used to interpret this is the Whig interpretation, which focused on the unity of the colonies.

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A British cartoon representing the relationship between the league of armed neutrality and Britain.

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The league of armed neutrality consisted of two separate military alliances, the first of which was formed during the American War of Independence, and the second during the French Revolution.  The Russian Empress Catherine II created the First League of Armed Neutrality in 1780, and it lasted until 1783.  The empress endorsed the right of neutral countries to trade with nationals of belligerents for anything save for weapons and military supplies.  However, neutral ships would not trade with belligerents if the port was actively being blockaded.  Squadrons were dispatched to the North and Mediterranean seas as well as the Atlantic Ocean to enforce this decree.  France, Denmark, Sweden, and Spain later joined the alliance, France being of the greatest concern for the American Revolutionary War.  While much of Europe declared themselves as neutral, many nations favoured the American Patriots, which may have been a strong reason to join the league.

This decree and the prior alliance were quite impactful on the American revolution due to their impact on French trade with the American colonies.   On account of the Russian brigades, the British navy was no longer able to search French merchant vessels, due to the threat of counterattack from an allied military body.  Some of the long-term effects of this alliance resulted in free neutral commerce spreading globally, and the Russian trade network being greatly expanded.

The lens best used to describe the first Armed League of Neutrality is the progressive lens. These events largely were centered around the trade interests of Russia and its allies, which in turn produced an alliance that led to the protection of trade ships aiding in the American revolution. However, Neo-Whig interpretations could also apply here, as the Russian declaration resulted in much military tension between Russia and Britain.

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A painting depicting John Trumbull and Britain troops making an attack on Spanish forces and killing Spanish officer Don Jose de Barboza.

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The scene painted represents a sudden British attack on Spanish forces in Gibraltar on Nov. 26, 1781. After siding with the French in the Seven Years War, the Spanish sided with the Revolutionaries against Britain. Gibraltar and Menorca were important points held by Britain positioned on the coast the Spain and the entrance into the Mediterranean. These encouraged the Spanish to enter the war against Britain.

Although this source highlights the Spanish role fighting in the Revolutionary War in Europe, Spain also contributed in the colonies. They fought, but their most important contributions were arms, shoes, blankets and money to the revolutionaries. These resources were vital to the colonies, but are often not mentioned in the history of the war.
Through a progressive lens, these contributions could focus on these helpful donations to the Revolutionaries, and an Imperial viewpoint might focus more on Spain's effect against Britain in Europe. The American Revolution also influenced Spain and its colonies in years after. Many leaders in Spanish colonies rose up to create independent countries. One notable example is Simón Bolívar who fought for the independence of Venezuela.

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The painting made by Jean-Jacques-François Le Barbier in 1789 was a representation of the "Declaration of Rights of Man and of the Citizen." 

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The French Revolution, which spanned for a decade from 1789 to 1799, was a period of radical political and societal  change in France. The central ideas of the French Revolution were liberté, égalité, fraternité which translate to liberty, equality, and fraternity. Essentially, revolutionaries wanted basic human rights and freedom. Revolutionaries formed "The Declaration of Rights of Man and of there Citizen," a 17 article long (and preamble) document which heavily relied on borrowed ideas from the American Declaration of Independence. Over the next ten years, an intense period of civil unrest and political strife occurred, which did not even completely resolve for the next century, until the Declaration was signed into law. There were several primary causes of the French Revolution. One of them was the heavy debt both due to underlying problems in the French taxation system and due to the financial costs of wars including the Seven Years War and the Revolutionary War. A second major cause was that French soldiers returning from America brought back with them Enlightenment ideas by which the revolution was deeply inspired. In a word, the American Revolution was a significant contributing factor to the French Revolution.

The lens which best applies to the French Revolution is perhaps a Progressive interpretation because the French Revolution was deeply a class struggle between the elite and the discontented poor. However, the war can additionally be seen from a Neo-whig interpretation because it was a war about ideologies and securing basic rights through Enlightenment ideas.

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The Geopolitical Consequences of the American Revolution

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The Geopolitical Consequences of the American Revolution

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The Kingdom of France sought the American Revolution as a way of getting back at the British after the humiliating defeat against the British-Prussian Entente during the Seven Years War. The American revolution was a symptom of the Seven Years war an, whilst in practice they left much to be desired, the purpose of the revolution according to the Declaration of indepence was to provide Life liberty and Property. This concencides with the French "declaration of the rights of man" which glorifies the right of the individual. From this perspective, it seems that the main reason the French revolution happened was because of the American one. However, this is likely untrue because of the political situation of France before the American Revolution. The kingdom of France was in a horrible position after the Seven years' war and heavy taxes were forcing their people into revolt. This in turn lead to the people of the American