 Cumberland's opponent in government Charles Townshend wished to instead further reduce the peacetime army and reform the militia by creating a volunteer force for home defence, a precursor to the volunteers of the 19th century which would be under the direct control of civil authorities.In 1754, the simmering colonial rivalry between Britain and France over competing territorial claims in North America developed into war.France asserted its claim to Ohio Valley by building a network of powerful fortifications.