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Territory Breakdown: French, British, and the Iroquois 1263 Views


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Description:

How did they decide who gets what? Did they use rock, paper, scissors to decide? Did they throw darts at a map? Flip for it? Do a little eeny, meeny, miney, mo? (Honestly, we could keep going...but we won't.)

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:09

Territory Breakdown.

00:16

You know how it feels when your parents decide to have a garage sale…

00:19

…and all of a sudden there are strangers running around, haggling over your stuff?

00:24

It sure would be nice if anyone asked for our permission, but noooo…

00:29

If you’ve been there, then you can probably imagine how we felt.

00:33

It was no picnic watching everyone divvy up our land after the French and Indian War ended.

00:38

Of course, this war was really just a small part of the Seven Years War…

00:41

… so those Europeans have been at it a while.

00:52

They’ve invested a lot of time, energy and

00:54

human lives, and sorta feel like… to the victor goes the spoils.

01:02

Even when the spoils are the only home we’ve ever known.

01:07

The French and British have been fighting over their claimed territories…

01:10

…while my Iroquois brothers and sisters are pretty much just siding with whoever promises

01:14

to ensure us an allocation of our own land.

01:18

We know we can trust them, because Europeans

01:20

never break their promises…

01:29

Anyways, the big point of contention is over

01:31

the territory around the Ohio Valley.

01:34

It’s a gray area, since that land is the seat of the Iroquois League…

01:37

…where plenty of the French and British had set up shop.

01:41

I suggested they “rock, paper, scissors” for it, but no one ever listens to me.

01:48

The French initially held a lot more territory than the British, but perhaps they spread

01:52

themselves a little thin…

01:54

…because the British were able to defeat them eventually.

01:57

Unfortunately for the French, their éclairs hardly qualified as lethal weapons.

02:04

As a result of their conquests…

02:06

…the British gained Florida and Canada.

02:09

Now they have more moose and alligators than they know what to do with.

02:18

They’ve also had the opportunity to expand into the Mississippi Valley.

02:22

Which is the Mississippiest of all the Valleys.

02:26

However, war isn’t cheap.

02:29

And the British have lately found themselves in a bit of financial trouble.

02:38

So what do they do? Have a garage sale of their own? Or organize a fundraiser?

02:46

Well, neither. Instead, they continue to tax the pants off the colonists.

02:51

And as you might imagine, the colonists aren’t thrilled about the buck being passed to them.

02:59

In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if all the anti-British sentiment that’s been building up lately...

03:04

…leads to some sort of “American Revolution.”

03:08

But don’t quote me on that.

03:11

In the meantime, we Iroquois will just sit back and watch as our precious homeland

03:15

gets sliced, diced and doled out to the white man.

03:18

But seriously… we’re not bitter.

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