Wellsprings of a 'World War': An early English attempt to conquer Canada during King William's war, 1688-97

• Published in: Journal of imperial and Commonwealth history 2006-06, Vol.34 (2), p.155-175
• Main Author: McLay, K. A. J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Canada; Colonial history; Colonialism; Historiography; History; History of international relations; International relations; Military intervention; Seventeenth Century; United States of America; War; Warfare
• ISSN: 0308-6534; 1743-9329
• DOI: 10.1080/03086530600633389

The military historiography of early modern colonial America currently offers two contrary interpretations. One emphasises the exceptional nature of American warfare as a product of a process of military acculturation between the colonists and the native Americans; the other denies this acculturation in favour of the successful importation of orthodox European forms of warfare. By assessing the military history of the early years of King William's War, 1688-97, including in particular an early attempt to conquer French Canada in 1690 by Sir William Phips, this article contributes to this historiographical debate. King William's War (known on the European continent as the Nine Years' War) has been little studied in this context and the article argues that not only was military acculturation less relevant in the later seventeenth century, but also that the colonists' deployment of amphibious actions against the French demonstrated an increasing recognition that, strategically and militarily, they were required to draw closer to London's war policy and to replicate European combat.