In reality, troops often feared their officers more than the enemy.

In a letter suggesting the British should make “gifts” to the natives of smallpox-infected blankets, Field Marshal Jeffrey Amherst instructed one of his Colonels, “You will do well to inoculate the Indians by means of blankets, as well as every other method that can serve to extirpate this execrable race.”

The French, aided by the Potawotomis, Odawa, Shawnee, and Lenape, ambushed fifteen hundred British soldiers and Virginia militia as they marched toward the fort.

However, the focus away from previous hierarchical structures of the Old Lights did provide some opportunities for women to have a bit more agency, if only in talking about their religious experiences.

The Spanish word for gentleman, Hidalgo, literally means “son of something” (hijo de algo), suggesting that common men could become noble by acquiring wealth, lands, and status as a conquistador.