Friday, March 26, 2010

Ft. Dobbs- plowed ground for the seeds of Revolution

I found this great video series for you from Ft. Dobbs. It discusses the French and Indian War which ended in 1763. At this time all soldiers and militia were English citizens. This war though gave the King of England an excuse to raise taxes in the 1760s-1770s. Corruption by officials in the colonies led to rebellion, particularly in Alamance. More people moved to the backcountry to escape the government of both the state and of England. More immigrants entered the backcountry from the Wagon Road during this time as well. Usually they were not so enamored of England anyway being Irish, Scots, Scots-Irish, German, Welsh or French. The King attempted to respect the rights of Native Americans at this time, but the animosity arising from the recent war led the newcomers to dismiss anything the English had to say about who could go to where. The seeds of Revolution were sewn here in the ground plowed by the French and Indian War.

This is a great place to remind you to see the reenactment of the War for Empire at Ft. Dobbs on April 10-11 in Statesville, NC, (home also of the Carolina Balloonfest.)

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