Colonial Conflicts Timeline
Parallel conflicts in British Colonial America and Spanish Texas • 1636–1774
Pequot War
Conflict between the Pequot tribe and Massachusetts Bay and Connecticut colonies. English forces and allied tribes nearly destroyed the Pequot nation.
King Philip's War
A brutal conflict in New England between colonists and the Wampanoag and Narragansett tribes. One of the deadliest colonial wars per capita in American history.
The Search for La Salle
Spain launched 11 expeditions to find and destroy La Salle's French fort at Matagorda Bay. De León found the ruins in April 1689 — the Karankawa had already destroyed the colony.
King William's War
Fought between New England/New York and New France, part of the Nine Years' War. Involved brutal raids on frontier settlements on both sides.
De León Expedition
Governor de León found Fort Saint Louis already destroyed, buried the French cannons, and torched the remains — establishing Spain's first military footprint in Texas.
Defensive Colonization Failure
First missions established in East Texas in May 1690. By 1693, plagued by floods, disease, and hostile natives, Spain abandoned Texas entirely.
Queen Anne's War
Continuation of European conflicts between Britain, France, and Spain in North America. Ended with the Treaty of Utrecht, granting Britain major territorial gains.
Tuscarora War
A war in North Carolina between the colony and the Tuscarora people. Survivors later joined the Iroquois Confederacy.
St. Denis Infiltration & Spanish Return
French entrepreneur St. Denis illegally crossed Texas in 1714. Spain returned in 1716, re-established four missions and built Presidio de los Dolores to block French expansion.
Yamasee War
A conflict in South Carolina between the colony and the Yamasee people. Nearly destroyed the colony before British forces prevailed.
The Chicken War
Just 7 French soldiers raided Mission San Miguel de los Adaes. Their horses were panicked by squawking chickens, allowing a Spanish brother to escape. The garrison abandoned East Texas and retreated to San Antonio.
The Aguayo Expedition
The Marqués de Aguayo led 500 mounted soldiers across Texas. St. Denis withdrew. Aguayo rebuilt the missions, expanded to four presidios, and placed the capital Los Adaes on the French border.
Apache Campaign / Battle of Brownwood
Captain Nicolás Flores y Valdés led 30 soldiers and 30 allied natives to punish Lipan Apache raiders. They tracked them to modern-day Brownwood and defeated them in battle.
Apache Raid on San Antonio
~350 Apache warriors launched a coordinated midnight assault on the San Antonio presidio. Spanish soldiers and mission-allied Indians repelled the attack, leading to a peace treaty in 1749.
French and Indian War
The defining conflict of colonial North America — Britain vs. France for control of a continent. Britain won but was left deeply in debt, planting seeds of the American Revolution.
Destruction of Mission San Sabá
Over 2,000 Comanche, Tonkawa, and Hasinai warriors attacked and burned Mission San Sabá. Two priests killed — retaliation for Spain aligning with their Apache enemies.
Battle of the Twin Villages
To avenge San Sabá, Col. Ortiz Parrilla led 500+ troops to a fortified Taovaya village on the Red River flying a French flag. The natives — armed with French muskets — decisively defeated the Spanish army.
Pontiac's War
An Indian uprising in the Great Lakes led by Ottawa chief Pontiac. Resulted in the British Proclamation of 1763 restricting colonial westward expansion.
Lord Dunmore's War
A conflict between Virginia and Native American tribes in the Ohio Valley. One of the last colonial wars before the American Revolution began the following year.