Building Fort Pitt... Virginia governor's speech...
Item # 693625
February 14, 1760
THE LONDON CHRONICLE, England, Feb. 14, 1760
* The Rise of Fort Pitt
* Imperial vs. Colonial Funding
* French and Indian War
Most of the front page is taken up with: "The Speech of the Hon. Francis Fauquier, Esq., Lieutenant-Governor of Virginia to the Council of the House of Burgesses" which is headed: "America".
In his speech he speaks much on the ongoing French & Indian War, noting: "...the dangers to which our frontiers are exposed by these Indians...not without hope that this gathering storm may still be dispersed...I am averse to encase, or even continue, any expenses to this colony that is not absolutely necessary...that the British nation is actually at this moment expending a very large sum to erect a strong fort at Pittsburg to defend this and the adjacent colonies from any future insult..." with much more.
This is followed by the response of the Virginia Assembly, noting in part: "...It is with the utmost concern we see the danger to which the neighboring colonies of North and South Carolina, and our own frontiers, will be exposed from the commotions that seem to be rising among the Cherokee Indians...". This response carries over to page 2, to which the governor responded, and then the Assembly's response again to the governor.
Eight pages, 8 by 10 3/4 inches, great condition.
background: This 1760 edition of The London Chronicle serves as a stark historical ledger of the shifting tides in the French and Indian War, capturing the precise moment when British colonial focus pivoted from the defeated French at Fort Duquesne toward the burgeoning "gathering storm" of the Anglo-Cherokee War. Lieutenant-Governor Francis Fauquier’s rhetoric reveals a complex balancing act: he celebrates the massive imperial investment in the construction of Fort Pitt (modern-day Pittsburgh) as a permanent shield for the Ohio Valley, yet simultaneously pleads for fiscal austerity to a Virginia Assembly weary of wartime taxation. The Assembly’s response underscores a growing dread that while the "French menace" had receded in the north, the southern frontier was becoming a powder keg due to "commotions" among the Cherokee—a conflict fueled by cultural misunderstandings and broken alliances. Ultimately, this exchange highlights the fragile nature of the British Empire's hold on America, where the high cost of "protecting" the colonies was beginning to create the very financial and political frictions that would, just fifteen years later, ignite the American Revolution.
* The Rise of Fort Pitt
* Imperial vs. Colonial Funding
* French and Indian War
Most of the front page is taken up with: "The Speech of the Hon. Francis Fauquier, Esq., Lieutenant-Governor of Virginia to the Council of the House of Burgesses" which is headed: "America".
In his speech he speaks much on the ongoing French & Indian War, noting: "...the dangers to which our frontiers are exposed by these Indians...not without hope that this gathering storm may still be dispersed...I am averse to encase, or even continue, any expenses to this colony that is not absolutely necessary...that the British nation is actually at this moment expending a very large sum to erect a strong fort at Pittsburg to defend this and the adjacent colonies from any future insult..." with much more.
This is followed by the response of the Virginia Assembly, noting in part: "...It is with the utmost concern we see the danger to which the neighboring colonies of North and South Carolina, and our own frontiers, will be exposed from the commotions that seem to be rising among the Cherokee Indians...". This response carries over to page 2, to which the governor responded, and then the Assembly's response again to the governor.
Eight pages, 8 by 10 3/4 inches, great condition.
background: This 1760 edition of The London Chronicle serves as a stark historical ledger of the shifting tides in the French and Indian War, capturing the precise moment when British colonial focus pivoted from the defeated French at Fort Duquesne toward the burgeoning "gathering storm" of the Anglo-Cherokee War. Lieutenant-Governor Francis Fauquier’s rhetoric reveals a complex balancing act: he celebrates the massive imperial investment in the construction of Fort Pitt (modern-day Pittsburgh) as a permanent shield for the Ohio Valley, yet simultaneously pleads for fiscal austerity to a Virginia Assembly weary of wartime taxation. The Assembly’s response underscores a growing dread that while the "French menace" had receded in the north, the southern frontier was becoming a powder keg due to "commotions" among the Cherokee—a conflict fueled by cultural misunderstandings and broken alliances. Ultimately, this exchange highlights the fragile nature of the British Empire's hold on America, where the high cost of "protecting" the colonies was beginning to create the very financial and political frictions that would, just fifteen years later, ignite the American Revolution.
Category: The 1600's and 1700's
