The Scratch of a Pen: 1763 and the Transformation of North America

Pivotal Moments in American History

by Colin G. Calloway

In February 1763, Britain, Spain, and France signed the Treaty of Paris, ending the French and Indian War. In this one document, more American territory changed hands than in any treaty before or since. As the great historian Francis Parkman wrote, half a continent changed hands at the scratch of a pen. As Colin Calloway reveals in this superb history, the Treaty set in motion a cascade of unexpected consequences. Indians and Europeans, settlers and frontiersmen, all struggled to adapt to new boundaries, new alignments, and new relationships. Britain now possessed a vast American empire stretching from Canada to the Florida Keys, yet the crushing costs of maintaining it would push its colonies toward rebellion. White settlers, free to pour into the West, clashed as never before with Indian tribes struggling to defend their way of life.

Genres: History, American History, Nonfiction, Native American, American Revolution, Audiobook, 18th Century

240 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Colin G. Calloway is John Kimball Jr. 1943 Professor of History and Native American Studies at Dartmouth College. His previous books include A Scratch of the Pen and The Victory with No Name.

Reviews

[Theo Logos · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Scratch of a Pen is an enjoyable book that covers a broad but shallow scope of how the Peace of Paris that ended the Seven Years War in 1763 transformed the North American continent. It correctly recognizes the great significance of that year and the world shaping changes that it wrought, and it makes a worthy attempt to sketch out how those changes worked, not just on the Anglo world of British North America, but on the various Indian tribes, and the French and Spanish inhabitants of North America, who all saw their worlds profoundly changed by that year's events. This broad approach, particularly the details of how French and Spanish culture on the continent were affected, is what sets Mr. Calloway's book apart.

If you are already fairly well read on the period, you are unlikely to find anything new in Calloway's book. There’s nothing new here, and no new twists. At just 171 pages, covering the British, French, Spanish, and several different Indian tribes, this book does little more than introduce ideas, as it does not have the time to explore them with any depth. It is a book that should be most useful for those just beginning to study the period, as it gives an excellent, comprehensive overview of the events of 1763 and the repercussions of those events. But those already well grounded in the period will miss little if they skip this one.

[Randall Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Frontier thesis guy, Frederick Jackson Turner, wrote that the Royal Proclamation of 1763 was a leading cause of the Revolutionary War. Noam Chomsky and Gerald Horne have also agreed that it and the British Somerset Decision were the big reasons, yet good luck finding US citizens talking about either one. The Proclamation was so important that in 1764 in Niagara, 2000 Natives from 24 nations came together to discuss it. The Proclamation’s job was to keep natives and whites separate. When George Washington was twenty-one, he had his ass whipped in battle by the French and he had to surrender. The problem the British had at the time was that of “having acquired too much power too quickly over too many people.” Britain actually owned both Cuba and the Philippines 1762-1763 (google that). With the Proclamation, Britain was trying to increase control while the colonists wanted freedom to expand. The Brits were deeply in debt and had to pay for the Seven Years War with increased taxes. “Molasses is the key ingredient of rum.” “More American territory changed hands at the Peace of Paris (1783) than by any other international settlement before or since.” “Half a continent changed hands at the stroke of a pen.”

Two 1763 events were “parallel campaigns of ethnic cleansing”: Pontiac’s War and the Paxton Riots (google them). These two events “altered the meaning of Peace in North America.” “Historians have long recognized the significance of 1763 in setting America on a course to revolution a dozen years later.” Maybe so but none of my history teachers mentioned it having any direct role in the Revolution. In 1763, there was no regular stagecoach between New York and Philadelphia. It was a three-day journey. This was a world of towns, not cities. In 1763, George Washington was 2000 pounds in debt to London creditors. He was eyeing the Ohio Valley lands as a way to get out of that debt. In 1759, he had married a walking money tree who had 300 slaves and a tobacco crop that George sucked at managing. His eyes were on lands that the Proclamation would soon put off-limits.

“British settlement remained confined east of the Appalachian Mountains.” West of the Appalachians were French or Spanish, not English. New Orleans (founded in 1718) was the “southwestern portal of France’s North American Empire, as Quebec had been its northeast portal.”

Cool question: what was the largest city north of Mexico in 1763? Philadelphia with its 23,000 people (New York had 18,000 and Boston had 16,000). Havana was then the third largest city in the Western hemisphere. Spain’s Empire at the time went from Tierra del Fuego to Florida. The oldest European town in America is St. Augustine, Florida. The death of one’s child was common in 1763. One of the reasons for that was that there were no medical schools in North America then. 1763 was also a smallpox year. Thomas Jefferson’s father had just left him 5,000 acres and slaves.

Cool questions asked by native leaders at the time: “Why don’t you & the French fight in the old country and on the sea?” “Why do you come to fight on our land? This makes everybody believe you want to take & settle the land.” They believed the English and the French had “contrived the war” and intended to “kill all the Indians and then divide the land among themselves.” They saw “in every little garrison the germ of a future colony.” One Delaware chief advised the British to “go back over the mountains and stay there.” The French knew what the British ignored, small outposts only work if you are on good relations with all surrounding natives. The French brought gifts & diplomacy, the Brits brought neither. The settlers who caused the biggest problems for natives (as Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz has said) were the Scots-Irish: “they rarely made good neighbors.” “Scots, Scots-Irish and German-speaking fighting framers were often the shock troops in the invasion of Indian country.” “Settlers defied all legal constraints.” Sounds like Gaza today. “George Washington led the expansion of Virginia into the Ohio Valley, and he aimed to do it (get settler-colonial) with or without the blessing of the British government.”

Most of the land traded at the Treaty of Paris was Indian land. But they were never consulted. Natives felt they were undefeated, they were never conquered, and France had no right to give their lands to anyone else. “We are not your slaves.” The natives wanted to know how a few stinking trading forts could mean dominion over an entire land. “The English sell us goods twice as dear as the French do, and their goods do not last. When we wish to set out for our winter camps, they do not want to give us any credit as our brothers, the French, do.” Turtle Heart told Captain Simeon Ecuyer, “You marched your armies into our country and built forts here, though we told you again and again to move. This land is ours not yours”.

“George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Arthur Lee, Patrick Henry, and others saw tyranny in Britain’s interference with their ability to make a killing in the West.” “For Washington and other debtor-planters, revolution would provide unrestricted access to western land and an escape from London creditors.” “The hunters and traders were destroying the basis of a way of life that had sustained Choctaws for generations.” In 1763, New France is dismembered, Canada goes British and Quebec established as a province. This was the collapse of the French empire in North America. The Peace of Paris allows Quebec residents to practice the Catholic faith but to stay they had to declare allegiance to the king of England. Some French elite left for France, while most residents, especially the lesser off, stayed. The transportation cost to France on a British ship was too damn high. The French had once asserted a hold on the Mississippi River with good relations and Indian alliances. But they were spread thin. Now the French were gone, and Spain held Louisiana. Spain gives Louisiana back to the French in 1801. Then only two years later, France sells it to the United States. Hey, at least this is easier to remember than all the boyfriends of Taylor Swift. Anyway, ironically, Louisiana got more French during Spanish ownership than it had before. Boatloads of Acadian refugees arrived. “A new Acadia.” In 1785, 1600 more Acadians arrived on seven vessels. They all brought Acadian culture: cooking, architecture, clothing, and music. According to Thomas Jefferson when he signed, not one in fifty of the Louisiana Creoles understood English.

“At the Peace of Paris in 1763, France handed over to Great Britain all its North American territories east of the Mississippi.” Twenty years later at another Peace of Paris, Britain recognizes American independence for the thirteen former colonies and returns Florida to Spain. If I’m not mistaken the second treaty makes the United States double the size of the original thirteen colonies. Then why did Colin not write that? Colin writes all Brit territory “south of the Great Lakes” was conceded. Britain in 1783 gives away to the ex-colonists land given it by France that neither of them ever owned. In both treaties 1763 and 1783, no mention was ever made to the natives already and still living there. The Indians were “thunderstruck” that the terms of the treaty did not include them. Cherokee chief Little Turkey said, “the peacemakers and our Enemies have talked away our lands at a rum drinking.” Nailed it. “Western lands – those between the Appalachians and the Mississippi that passed from French to British hands in 1763 and then from British hands to American hands in 1783 and those between the Mississippi and the Rockies that passed from French to Spanish hands in 1763, briefly to France, and then to the United States in 1803 – allowed an empire of slavery and well as an empire of liberty to expand.” Great book, my second time reviewing a Colin Calloway book: this was very educational about a critical time period few discuss.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Calloway's book is about the impact of the 1763 Treaty of Paris on North America and the various peoples who occupied it, ie the British, French, and Spanish Colonials and the Native American peoples. The title of the book comes from a quote by historian Francis Parkman who stated that "half a continent changed hands at the scratch of a pen". Calloway explains how various conflicts erupted because of the ceding of a vast amount of territory to the British in its costly French and Indian War and how its victory would ultimately contribute to the American Revolution. I would recommend this to those interested in understanding the origins of the American Revolution.

[Shawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Colin Calloway is one of my favorite academic historians of early North American History. This is an excellent work that explores not only the results of the French and Indian War but also the Treaty of Paris that managed the transfer of colonial and Indian lands of New France to the Spanish and English crowns. It is a fascinating history.

[Sarah Iozzio · Rating 1 out of 5]

I like reading about history, but this was the most boring, nonsensically organized book I've ever read.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I said in my review of this book in 2017... Why did the British win a great territorial victory in North America from the 1763 Treaty of Paris, only to see most of it lost in the 1783 Treaty of Paris? This outstanding book tells the story succinctly and with very eloquent writing. It essentially follows as a natural sequel to the War That Made America, (previously reviewed). The author pays particular attention to the actions of land speculators (e.g., George Washington), the uprooted French settlers, and the Indian tribes, whose lands were given away by European Kings despite treaties and trading agreements. It still stands. A great study of our early history.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is well worth a read for any history buff interested in the French & Indian War in North America. It focuses on the socialogical implications of the war, and how it affected many of the different populations, both directly and indirectly. It gave more note of some of the often overlooked groups such as the Acadians/Cajuns, the Native American tribes in the south, and the Spanish. Well written & researched.

[Todd Price · Rating 5 out of 5]

The conclusion of the French and Indian War with the Treaty of Paris, Pontiac’s War, and the Royal Proclamation are the key events of Dr. Calloway’s analysis of the year 1763 and its impact upon North American history. However, rather than simply retelling the major events as have so often been evaluated by historians of the period, he examines the impact upon the population of the affected regions. Not only the English and French residents of Britain’s 13 Atlantic seaboard and French Canadian colonies, but the numerous Native American nations, Spanish colonists, enslaved Africans, and free peoples of both African and Native American ethnicities.

As usual, Dr. Calloway’s offers a depth of insight rarely attempted by other scholars, demonstrating keen knowledge of the differing cultural groups composing the menagerie of individuals involved. While Native Americans figure prominently in his work, the frontier settlers of European descent are also well represented. His work is always a pleasure to read, and “The Scratch of a Pen” continues his legacy of academic excellence.

[Jerome Otte · Rating 4 out of 5]

A detailed, well-researched history of the immediate aftermath of the Seven Years’ War in North America.

The narrative is balanced, and Calloway describes how the peace of 1763 affected relations between the British, the French, the colonists and the Indians. In particular, he describes how Britain’s victory made them less eager to placate the Indians, and how this led to Pontiac’s War. He describes how the 1763 Proclamation came about, and how it alienated traders, hunters, settlers, Indians and pretty much everyone on the frontier.

Calloway does a great job integrating all of the key players into the narrative without oversimplifying anything. The narrative is broad if a bit shallow at times, and it doesn’t offer anything new. Also, when discussing the impact of the events of 1763, he focuses more on the Indians than the American colonists, and he sometimes suggests that American independence was inevitable.

A concise, well-written work.

[Jeremy Cartwright · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good, balanced, and neutral overview of North America after the French & Indian War, aka the Seven Years' War.

It is a bit sporadic and scattered in how it presents information, but still worth the read for a high level overview of this period in history.

[Herbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part of Oxford UP's "Pivotal Moments in American History" series, Scratch of a Pen would only be a blinding flash of the obvious if it treated the 1763 Peace of Paris solely as a diplomatic event in the "pre-history" of the American Revolution. However, Calloway does so much more here than that. As he states in his intro, "The purpose of this book is not to retell the familiar story of the growing rift between Britain and the thirteen colonies…Rather, it surveys the enormous changes generated by the Peace of Paris and assesses their impact on many societies and countless lives in North America" (14). Calloway demonstrates that the 1763 treaty did more than change the political geography of North America, it also produced a myriad of significant demographic changes. In the process, he reminds us that 1763 was not just a turning point for the English speaking population of the 13 colonies, but for all of North America and its Native Americans, Spanish Americans, French Jesuits, Acadians, land speculators, French Habitants, western settlers, African slaves and more. Calloway even has a brief but fascinating section on North America's newest inhabitants as a result of the Peace—the British soldier now stationed permanently on North American soil.

Not that any of this is new to the well-read student of early American history—which is why I gave it three instead of four stars. However, this volume would make a very good addition to any undergraduate reading list of early US history. A very good intro to the human geography of the Revolutionary era. Based on a good balance between original research in primary sources and interaction with secondary sources. It also includes a helpful timeline and many valuable before-and-after maps; the map showing the mass movements of people groups in the aftermath of the Peace is particularly fascinating.

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this detailed look at the French and Indian War . . . this text filled a gap in my general knowledge of US History.

[Chaz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Calloway's book looks at the demographic shake-up that the Treaty of Paris of 1763, after the French & Indian War (Seven Years' War), afforded upon the North American continent.

Throughout the book, it also makes clear that in the treaty itself, where Britain inherited most of North America, were the seeds of the it's undoing. An expensive world war to be paid for, in part, by Americans; restrictive land use by those whom won the war, the Anglo-Americans; usurpation of native Indian land by the scratch of a pen in an unimaginably faraway land led to the first revolution against Britain: Pontiac's War (1763-1766). This resulted in thousands of deaths and further displaced even many more thousands.

In Louisiana, the French Creoles rebelled against their new Spanish governor, Ulloa (1763). (Louis XV ceded Louisiana to his cousin, fellow Bourbon Carlos III. An unwanted and neglected colony by Louis' time, Carlos' famous reply was an equivocal "really, Cousin, you give me too much.") Though a limited affair where no one was hurt, it did bring upon the French Creoles the wrath of Spain's empire and the famously draconian governorship of O'Reilly, whom quickly established order in Spanish Louisiana.

Clearly, the American Revolution had its antecedents and you can argue that it therefore was not completely unprecedented. All things were possible at the cusp of enormous continent, one that ever encouraged a look westward, away from Europe and its seemingly petty wars and fiefdoms.

[Eunice Schroeder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as well written as other books by professional historians aimed at the general public that I have recently read. However, the author provides a detailed picture of the changes to the North American continent that resulted from the 1763 Peace of Paris treaty than ended the momentous Seven Years War (usually called the French and Indian War in America). The treaty ended the French presence on the continent that dated back two centuries and included a huge amount of territory from the St. Lawrence in Canada to the mouth of the Mississippi. Britain was the big winner, but at the cost of huge war debts, which led to taxation of its American colonies, which in turn led to the rebellion of the colonies and the War of Independence, which ended with another Peace of Paris treaty twenty years later in 1783. The author devotes much attention to disruptions in patterns of trade and other cultural interaction between native peoples, colonists, and European empires resulting from the 1763 treaty, all of which I found enlightening.

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting look at post-French/Indian (Seven Years) War look of North America, specifically how it entailed in the year after 1763 with the Native American (Indian) tribes and the British (and leaving French).

Bit slow, bit of a slog to read, but was very interesting. Dry writing, but informative, knowledgeable information. Lots of sourcing, citations, etc. It often gets lost in thinking about the timeframe (pre-Revolution/American Revolution, 1740s-1780s), but there was much more to North America than just the thirteen colonies. Canada, Havana, Puerto Rico, Texas, Florida, West Florida, the interior (Louisiana), really all of the islands in the Caribbean (Cuba, St. Dominque, Puerto Rico, etc, etc, etc).

It also gets lost just how much the Seven Years War effected, and basically was the main catalyst for the American Revolution. How the Treaty of Peace (Paris) paved the way for the American Revolution (similar to how the Treaty of Versailles paved the way for World War II).

Very interesting and fascinating book, just extremely dry.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is another in the series of American history books I have read in the last two years that turn the received wisdom of the early years of our country on its head. If I were a more creative person, this book would provide the underlying plot of any number of wonderful historical novels or alternative histories. One could imagine a sweeping Margaret Mitchell-esque story of the serial evacuation and repatriation of first the Spanish and then the English in pre-Revolutionary Florida. One could imagine a story of pre-Revolutionary British in Kentucky who felt more aligned with New Orleans than Philadelphia. One could imagine a story where George Washington was not prevented by British policy from speculating in Indian Territory west of the Alleghenies and thus became a rural slum lord. Or where the Haitian revolution failed and Spain kept Louisiana .... Or.... or....

[Asher Burns · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good piece of historical writing, did a fine job of exploring the consequences of the Peace of 1763. Almost 5 stars but occasionally it was a little dry - it’s hard not to be too liberal with 5-star ratings but ultimately this just couldn’t quite cut it.

EDIT: I added this to my "school books and other required" shelf because chapters 5 and 7 were assigned reading for my class on "The Contest for North America to 1763." We read a number of chapters from books during that class - I have chosen not to add those books since I have not read them in their entirety (or even majority), but if I ever happen to read them, I will shelve them as "required reading" as well.

Fun story, I actually had a little bonding moment with my history professor in a prior semester over having read this book, and he mentioned that he would be assigning chapters from it for this course.

[Jay Perkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 1763 Britain signed the Treaty of Paris which ended the Seven Years War and gave her dominion over much of the North America continent. Just 20 years later, Britain lost most of this grand empire in another Treaty of Paris. What happened? Much of what took place in 1763 set the course for the next 20 years. Galloway does an excellent job of describing events during this pivotal year. Balanced and articulate, he evaluates not only the political situation, but spends time explaining how the year impacted the Indians, French settlers, British soldiers, land speculators and many other various participants. This is an important book in understanding what lead up to the clash between Britain and her thirteen America colonies.

[Diane G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my second book by Calloway. I find his writing interesting and balanced. In this book, he looks at the consequences of the Treaty of Paris and Procalmation of 1763 from not just the British and Br. Colonial viewpoints, but also takes a look at the ramifications for the Indians, and the displaced French and Spanish colonials. The book is not long, yet it clearly deals with all these peoples in the run-up to the American Revolution. Happily, it contains enough photographs and maps to help the reader along. I would like to read Calloway's <|>One Vast Winter Count: The Native American West before Lewis and Clark<|>.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

My city, St. Louis, was founded as a trading post in 1763. (Well, that's when Pierre Laclede and his stepson Auguste Chouteau came up the river from New Orleans and chose the site. They came back in February of the next year to start building.) I did know a lot else was happening on the continent that year, but never so well as Calloway tells it. Incidentally the Epilogue, the last seven pages of the book, is an excellent capsule "look ahead" discussion of the far-reaching influence this year and its events had on the future of the soon-to-be United States and the world in general.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

1763! A year that should stand out as do the years 1776, 1860, 1929 in American History. As I read this book, I kept questioning how I didn't know the information of The Treaty of Paris that ended the French & Indian Wars, and meant so much to the birth of our nation. Perhaps I was asleep the day/week/year it was taught in High School or perhaps our education system is not well versed in its teaching. Either way, The Scratch of a Pen takes us back to this pivotal period and shows how a peace treaty led to the American Revolution and the shaping of a county.

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love reading about the American Revolution, particularly from the George Washington angle. But I haven't appreciated enough the years prior to the Revolution, like the French and Indian War. This book really helped with that. Calloway focused on the 1763 as a pivotal moment. The French and Indian War, and resulting actions of the British government really set the stage for the Revolution to come. Also, slaves, native Americans, and non-famous colonists all were players in the events of this period, in ways that have been underappreciated by many. A fine read.

[Dave Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Colin Calloway deftly lays out the impact of the Paris Treaty of 1763 on the North American continent. He does an excellent job of capturing the diversity and complexity of peoples that were affected by this monumental treaty that reshaped the political and cultural geography, set in motion a revolution, and resulted in the ultimate defeat of Native American land rights’. It is on the short list for anybody interested in learning more about early North American history.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short, basic overview of a somewhat neglected area of history: how the end of the French & Indian War affected the peoples of North America geographically, culturally and politically. Calloway demonstrates how the foundation for the American Revolution was already being laid thirteen years before it began. He especially focuses on how the war's outcome affected various Native American tribes and their relationships with the colonists.

[Homer H Blass]

First class diplomatic and Social History Show how the terms of the Peace of Paris of 1763 played havoc with most of the organized socio-ehtnic groups living in North America. It set in motion a collision between British and colonist; colonist and native Americans; and native Americans and blacks. Diplomats in Paris played fruitbasket turnover or 52 card pickup with large groups of people 5000 miles away.

[Don · Rating 4 out of 5]

A detailed, if uneven look at an often overlooked aspect -- and yes, determinant of the American experience. There is a lot of good information and background here, although it does not flow particularly well. What does flow well is the introduction and the epilogue. The epilogue, in fact IS the story, and the author does an excellent job of putting the spolis of the war into context and how the parties involved never overcame the die that was cast with all that was the 1763 Treaty of Paris.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was a good book. I sometime felt like I got lost on the many places and people. It was somewhat difficult to all the connections that he was hoping to draw in the book. There was just a lot of countries and people to keep straight. I do see how 1763 was such a huge year in the history of our country.

It definitely makes me feel sorry for way the British, French and Spanish treated Indians. wow.

[Shayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

So it would seem that 1763 was just another year before the revolution but this book really makes the case that actions are often started years before without anyone realizing what will take place. I had always wondered about the French in Canada and this gave me a good understanding of that situation and why they are still practicing their French heritage instead of becoming part of the larger Canadian British culture.

[Ken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Through the use of much original material, the author covers what happened in North America with the signing of the Peace of Ghent in 1763. With the change of power and of alliances between white and the many Native peoples, forces were put in motion that would Effect North America for quite some time. The story is told by region, which makes it simpler to follow and make sense of. It is a good addition to books on that time.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book because it made me think about American history from a different perspective. It amazed me to find that the French signed away a huge tract of North America in exchange for a few islands--and they may have gotten the better part of the deal. It was also interesting to read that England gaining control of this region actually destabilized its hold on the continent.