Britain and France Clash - 06/14/25

Why did Britain and France clash?

They both wanted control of the Ohio Valley

French goals

Focused on fur trade, not empire

French allies

Formed strong trade and military alliances with Native Americans

Benefit of French alliance

Helped the French during the French and Indian War (1754)

British goals

Wanted to expand west into French territory

Appalachian Mountains

A natural border for the British colonies in the 1700s

New France

French territory in North America, west of the British colonies

George Washington

Led British soldiers into the Ohio Valley in 1754

Fort Necessity

A British fort built near French Fort Duquesne in the Ohio Valley

Why this matters

Britain was challenging France directly on French

Albany Plan

Benjamin Franklin’s 1754 plan to unite the colonies for defense

Why the Albany Plan failed

Colonies rejected it, but it predicted future unity

Importance of this clash

Started a war and showed that the colonies needed to work together