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The Plains of Abraham were located in an abandoned farmer’s field that lay between Quebec City and bluffs that rise 200 feet above the St. Lawrence River. There in September 1759 Britain cemented its colonial control over North America.

A Moment in Time is a brief, exciting and compelling journey into the past. Created to excite and enlighten the public about the past, its relevance to the present and its impact on the future, A Moment In Time is a captivating historical narrative that is currently broadcast worldwide.

Transcript

Lead: The Plains of Abraham were located in an abandoned farmer’s field that lay between Quebec City and bluffs that rise 200 feet above the St. Lawrence River. There in September 1759 Britain cemented its colonial control over North America.

Intro.: A Moment in Time with Dan Roberts.

Content: The struggle for European continental dominance between England and France was matched in North America beginning in the 1600s. A century later France controlled New France, a vast claim north and west of the British colonies that hugged the American east coast. Both powers looked with lust on the fertile Ohio Valley. Technically, the French were already there, had established trading posts and fortifications, and were doing a brisk business with Native Americans.

The peace was broken in 1754 and the two great powers went after each other’s possessions all around the world. This struggle was known as the Seven Years’ War or, in America, the French and Indian War. Initially, Britain suffered setbacks, namely the ill-fated attack on Ticonderoga in 1758. It appeared that the French had the upper hand.

Yet, the tide of the war began to turn when King George II turned to William Pitt as war minister. Pitt put the country on a serious war footing and committed enormous resources--and his not inconsiderable energies--to ousting the French from Canada.

In summer 1759, an army under General James Wolfe invaded Quebec City, the walled capital of New France. After a fruitless two-month siege, Wolfe changed tactics. He sent nearly half of his men drifting downstream as a decoy, while the rest began to scale the jagged cliffs in front of Quebec which were supposed to render the city invulnerable. Soon the reunited army began to deploy on the Plains of Abraham, named for an early settler, and on the morning of September 13th, the French under Marquis de Montcalm were surprised and forced to make battle. They were unprepared and routed. However, both generals (Wolfe and Montcalm) were mortally wounded in the fighting. The British captured Montreal the following year. Soon thereafter the French were driven from the continent.

At the University of Richmond, this is Dan Roberts.

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