Question

how did Europeans rivalries affect the development of canada?

Answer 1

The capture of Louisbourg was quite an accomplishment in Great Britain's history. Many books have discussed France's naval disaster and the capture of Louisbourg in great detail, along with the failure of France to regain their territory. However, what should be known is that Louisbourg was part of a much larger issue that stemmed from a massive war that affected almost every known continent. Louisbourg came as a result of the Austrian Succession, which was based on historic rivalries. The Austrian War of Succession began in 1740 and ended in 1748. Fredrick Il was not pleased that Maria Theresa of Hungary would be heir to the Habsburg throne. He believed that he had just as much of a right as she did. As a result, he set his sights on Silesia, a prominently Slavic country. He began this invasion to assert his dominance within the Habsburg provinces. With this taking place and many other countries taking notice, this war would eventually involve many other nations as well.After Britain had entered the war, not only did the territory in Europe become a major focus but so did the competition for land in the West, specifically Acadia. There was a debate between the two colonies about who had the rights to this area, because it was never clearly defined. The area consisted of Acadians, British and Native peoples. Many of this British in this area were weary because many of the French had allied with these Natives, the Mikmaw in particular. These relationships were very important in this because the Natives became a resource to the French. Using these allies, the French attacked Annapolis Royal in attempt to take control over the area. The British fought back, and therefore, their focus seemed to shift somewhat from the actual war.