French and Indian War/Seven Years War (1754-1763)

Ohio River Valley

Contested region between British colonies and New France that sparked French and Indian War in 1754

George Washington

Young Virginia colonel whose 1754 attack on French forces at Fort Necessity helped start French and Indian War

Fort Necessity

Washington's makeshift fort where he surrendered to French forces in 1754, early battle of French and Indian War

The Albany Congress

1754 meeting of colonial representatives to discuss defense against French and plan for colonial unity

Join or Die

Benjamin Franklin's 1754 political cartoon of divided snake urging colonial unity at Albany Congress

Treaty of Paris (1763)

Treaty ending French and Indian War; France ceded Canada and lands east of Mississippi to Britain, and Louisiana to Spain

Haiti

French Caribbean colony (Saint-Domingue) that became valuable sugar producer after France lost mainland territories

Chief Pontiac Wars

1763 Native American uprising led by Ottawa chief Pontiac against British expansion after French departure

Proclamation of 1763

British decree forbidding colonial settlement west of Appalachian Mountains to avoid conflicts with Native Americans, angering colonists

Navigation Acts

Series of British laws restricting colonial trade to benefit British merchants and enforce mercantilism

Sugar Act (Molasses Act 1764)

British tax on sugar and molasses to raise revenue from colonies and enforce trade restrictions

Quartering Act (1764)

Law requiring colonists to provide housing and supplies for British soldiers, creating resentment