ShmoopTube

Where Monty Python meets your 10th grade teacher.

Search Thousands of Shmoop Videos


Politics Videos 16 videos

A Tale of Two Cities
53963 Views

It may be the best of times for Chuck Darnay, but it's pretty much constantly the worst of times for Sydney. Poor guy.

Gulliver's Travels
24050 Views

Gulliver's Travels is a classic tale of adventure with a dash of what-the-heck-is-happening thrown in for good measure.

A Tale of Two Cities Summary
75858 Views

Meet Charles Darnay, the nobleman who spends more time on trial and in prison than attending balls and drinking expensive wine. Don't feel too bad...

See All

Territory Breakdown: French, British, and the Iroquois 1267 Views


Share It!


Description:

How did they decide who gets what? Did they use rock, paper, scissors to decide? Did they throw darts at a map? Flip for it? Do a little eeny, meeny, miney, mo? (Honestly, we could keep going...but we won't.)

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:09

Territory Breakdown.

00:16

You know how it feels when your parents decide to have a garage sale…

00:19

…and all of a sudden there are strangers running around, haggling over your stuff?

00:24

It sure would be nice if anyone asked for our permission, but noooo…

00:29

If you’ve been there, then you can probably imagine how we felt.

00:33

It was no picnic watching everyone divvy up our land after the French and Indian War ended.

00:38

Of course, this war was really just a small part of the Seven Years War…

00:41

… so those Europeans have been at it a while.

00:52

They’ve invested a lot of time, energy and

00:54

human lives, and sorta feel like… to the victor goes the spoils.

01:02

Even when the spoils are the only home we’ve ever known.

01:07

The French and British have been fighting over their claimed territories…

01:10

…while my Iroquois brothers and sisters are pretty much just siding with whoever promises

01:14

to ensure us an allocation of our own land.

01:18

We know we can trust them, because Europeans

01:20

never break their promises…

01:29

Anyways, the big point of contention is over

01:31

the territory around the Ohio Valley.

01:34

It’s a gray area, since that land is the seat of the Iroquois League…

01:37

…where plenty of the French and British had set up shop.

01:41

I suggested they “rock, paper, scissors” for it, but no one ever listens to me.

01:48

The French initially held a lot more territory than the British, but perhaps they spread

01:52

themselves a little thin…

01:54

…because the British were able to defeat them eventually.

01:57

Unfortunately for the French, their éclairs hardly qualified as lethal weapons.

02:04

As a result of their conquests…

02:06

…the British gained Florida and Canada.

02:09

Now they have more moose and alligators than they know what to do with.

02:18

They’ve also had the opportunity to expand into the Mississippi Valley.

02:22

Which is the Mississippiest of all the Valleys.

02:26

However, war isn’t cheap.

02:29

And the British have lately found themselves in a bit of financial trouble.

02:38

So what do they do? Have a garage sale of their own? Or organize a fundraiser?

02:46

Well, neither. Instead, they continue to tax the pants off the colonists.

02:51

And as you might imagine, the colonists aren’t thrilled about the buck being passed to them.

02:59

In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if all the anti-British sentiment that’s been building up lately...

03:04

…leads to some sort of “American Revolution.”

03:08

But don’t quote me on that.

03:11

In the meantime, we Iroquois will just sit back and watch as our precious homeland

03:15

gets sliced, diced and doled out to the white man.

03:18

But seriously… we’re not bitter.

Related Videos

Why Does the Constitution Still Work for Us?
5723 Views

Ever heard of a "living document"? They eat and breathe just like the rest of us! They even walk around on their own two legs. Okay, fine—maybe t...

The Puritans and the Division of Church and State
1280 Views

If the Puritans had gotten their way, religion would play a much larger role in lawmaking these days. Want to know more? Watch the video for all th...

Shays' Rebellion
6475 Views

What happened between the creation of the Articles of Confederation and the ratification of the current U.S. Constitution? This video analyzes the...

There's More Than One Way to Crack a Modernist Egg
539 Views

The Modernists thought the world had a lot of problems, and they were intent on fixing them—or at least talking about fixing them. Unfortunately,...

Federalism
2532 Views

This video explains Federalism and the quest for a fair balance between state and national power. It covers the progression and compromises of Fede...