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The Scratch of a Pen: 1763 and the Transformation of North America (Pivotal Moments in American History)

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On this superb volume in Oxford’s acclaimed Pivotal Moments series, Colin Calloway reveals how the Treaty of Paris of 1763 had a profound effect on American history, setting in motion a cascade of unexpected consequences, as Indians and Europeans, settlers and frontiersmen, all struggled to adapt to new boundaries, new alignments, and new relationships.

Britain now possessed a vast American empire stretching from Canada to the Florida Keys, yet the crushing costs of maintaining it will push its colonies toward revolt. White settlers, free to pour into the West, clashed as never before with Indian tribes struggling to defend their way of living. In the Northwest, Pontiac’s War brought racial conflict to its bitterest level thus far. Whole ethnic groups migrated, occasionally around the continent: it used to be 1763 that saw many exiled settlers from Acadia in French Canada move again to Louisiana, where they would turn into Cajuns. Calloway unfurls this panoramic canvas with vibrant narrative skill, peopling his tale with memorable characters such as William Johnson, the Irish baronet who moved between Indian campfires and British barracks; Pontiac, the charismatic Ottawa chieftain; and James Murray, Britains first governor in Quebec, who fought to offer protection to the religious rights of his French Catholic subjects.

Most Americans know the significance of the Declaration of Independence or the Emancipation Proclamation, but not the Treaty of Paris. Yet 1763 used to be a year that shaped our history just as decisively as 1776 or 1862. This captivating book shows why.

Winner of the Society of Colonial Wars Book Award for 2006

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