French & Indian War question!?!?

Question

How might life be different if France, not England, had won the French and Indian War???

I can't come up with anything, besides the fact that we'd be speaking French, hahaa.

thanks!

Answer 1

1. The 13 colonies might not have declared their independence from Britain or have begun the Revolutionary War in 1775. The colonists probably would have wanted continued British support in the event of a threat--or perceived threat--from French Canada or French Louisiana. If the Revolution never occurred, the colonies might have remained part of the British empire and more closely resemble present-day Canada in political structure.

2. Even if the American Revolution occurred, or took place later in time, the new U.S. would still have had a large French colony--the Louisiana territory--to its west. It is possible that the size of the U.S. might have been largely limited to the area east of the Appalachian mountains. The area to the west of the Louisiana territory might have remained part of Mexico or have become its own independent nation.

3. Given possibilities 1 and 2, the Louisiana territory itself might have eventually become still another independent nation! The U.S. we know might be, instead, three nations: a Spanish-speaking West, a French-speaking Central, and an English-speaking East. Citizens of the U.S. (East) might be much more likely to speak three languages in order to do business or travel. Even if all three areas eventually became part of the U.S., there would probably be three official languages to this day.

4. Given the occurrence of any or all of the above, it is possible that native Americans might not have had as many wars with European-Americans. Desire to spread westward is one of the reasons many bloody conflicts occurred and why Indians were forced to relocate on designated reservations.

Answer 2

At that time, there was a divide between the colonies that fronted on the Atlantic, and the British colonial territories that fronted on the Mississippi River to the west. The two groups of territories were separated by the Allegheny Mountains. lf France had won, then the population to the west might have formed a separate nation, sending their commerce south down the Mississippi to New Orleans. At that time, the "Louisiana purchase" to the west was still not "purchased." It belonged to France. The new "country" might have been a French colony. It might have declared independence from France in 1776 or 1789 and become a new republic or whaddevah. The new U.S. along the Atlantic coast but separated from foreign territory across the Alleghenies would speak English. One can only guess what they would speak to the west.

It is fun to speculate. In order to speculate further, read about Aaron Burr. He wanted to separate the western territories from the eastern U.S. about 1800 and maybe rule them himself. Read about Thomas Jefferson. He recognized the danger of secession and arranged laws for the "northwest territories" to be admitted as states of the U.S. as fast as possible He also bought the "Louisinana Purchase." WHEW! That means that the U.S. got all that land to the northwest, plus the city of New Orleans.

Answer 3

Well, think about it for a minute.

Many Frenchmen were Catholic. The religious makeup of the colonies would have been different.

The food we eat and the customs we have may have been more French than English.

How was the French government different from the English government? Were their assemblies different? If so, that difference may have influenced how the colonial governments were run.

Those are just a few ideas I came up with. Maybe you can think of a few more.