Lesson 5
Queen Anne's War

England and France spent much of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries struggling for control of Europe's economy and political landscape. At various points, this ongoing rivalry escalated into full-scale war. In 1700, Carlos II, the King of Spain died. Carlos named the grandson of King Louis XIV of France his heir. This action brought Spain firmly under the control of France and radically increased French power. England and its allies found Carlos II's will unacceptable and declared war on France in 1701, known as the War of Spanish Succession.

The conflict quickly spread to the North American colonies, where it became known to English colonists as Queen Anne's War, after the newly crowned Queen of England. Both the French and English colonial governments called on Native American allies to join them in attacking enemy settlements. One of the most famous incidents of Queen Anne's War in New England was the French and Indian raid on Deerfield, Massachusetts. On February 29, 1704, a group of approximately 40 French soldiers and 200 Native warriors attacked and burned the town, taking captive over 100 English men, women and children. By 1713, however, England had gained the upper hand over France, winning both new territory and trade concessions in the Treaty of Utrecht (1713).

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