King William's War: The First Contest for North America, 1689-1697

By Michael G. Laramie

Winner of the New York Society of Colonial Wars Annual Book Award
Fought in New York, New England, and Canada, the Conflict that Began the Long French and English Struggle for the New World
While much has been written on the French and Indian War of 1754-1763, the colonial conflicts that preceded it have received comparatively little attention. Yet in King William's War, the first clash between England and France for control of North America, the patterns of conflict for the next seventy years were laid, as were the goals and objectives of both sides, as well as the realization that the colonies of the two nations could not coexist.
King William's War actually encompassed several proxy wars being fought by the English and the French through their native allies. The Beaver Wars was a long running feud between the Iroquois Confederacy, New France, and New France's native allies over control of the lucrative fur trade. Fueled by English guns and money, the Iroquois attempted to divert the French fur trade towards their English trading partners in Albany, and in the process gain control over other Indian tribes. To the east the pro-French Wabanaki of Maine, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick had earlier fought a war with New England, but English expansion and French urgings, aided by foolish moves and political blunders on the part of New England, erupted into a second Wabanaki War on the eve of King William's War. Thus, these two conflicts officially became one with the arrival of news of a declaration of war between France and England in 1689. The next nine years saw coordinated attacks, including French assaults on Schenectady, New York, and Massachusetts, and English attacks around Montreal and on Nova Scotia. The war ended diplomatically, but started again five years later in Queen Anne's War.
A riveting history full of memorable characters and events, and supported by extensive primary source material, King William's War: The First Contest for North America, 1689-1697 by Michael G. Laramie is the first book-length treatment of a war that proved crucial to the future of North America.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1594162883
• ISBN13: 9781594162886
• Release Date: November 2017
• Publisher: Westholme Publishing
• Length: 344 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.1" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Great dive into Colonial History

Colonial history is easily one of the most underrated subjects in American history. Usually it’s only brought up as a footnote, since we tent to treat the American Revolution as a sort of creation myth, with all history starting afterwards. It’s honestly a shame though since the colonial period is a long and storied era in our history as a people. To have a book a book that gives it such a thorough treatment is long overdue. This book is about more than just the war that it’s titled after, starting all the way back at the Dutch colonization of New York and thoroughly detailing the political landscape of North America before King William’s War and how it shaped the conflict before it gets into the war itself. Truly a must have for anyone interested in an unfortunately overlooked period in the history of the United States