French and Indian War Vocabulary

Flashcards covering key terms, battles, forts, and treaties from the French and Indian War and Seven Years War lecture notes.

The Seven Years War

A global conflict that officially began in 1756 when Britain declared war on France, spreading to Europe, Africa, Asia, and South America, which included the French and Indian War.

Battle of Fort Necessity

A July 1754 battle where French troops and Native allies using guerilla warfare defeated the British, forcing George Washington to surrender 1/3 of his force and sign a French document admitting to killing a French diplomat.

Battle of the Monongahela

A July 1755 battle in which the French defeated British forces, leading to the death of General Edward Baddock and allowing the French to take control of the rivers.

General Edward Baddock

The British commander who led forces into the Battle of the Monongahela in July 1755, where he died after disregarding guerilla warfare tactics and refusing Native alliances.

Guerilla warfare

A combat tactic used by Native forces aligned with the French to defeat the British at Fort Necessity in July 1754.

Fort William Henry

A British fort captured by the French in 1757, after which surrendered British troops were attacked and hundreds were captured or killed by Natives.

Fort Louisburg

The site of the first British victory in July 1758, achieved with the support of American colonists.

Fort Frontenac

The site of the second British victory in August 1758, which cut off all supply lines to French forts.

Treaty of Easton

An October 1758 treaty signed with the Six Native Nations in which the British agreed not to settle west of the Alleghenies if the Natives released prisoners and withdrew from the war.

Fort Duquesne

A French fort at the Forks of the Ohio that was burned down by the British in November 1758 as Britain gained control of the rivers.

Fort Pitt

The fort constructed by the British at the Forks of the Ohio after burning Fort Duquesne in November 1758.

Fort Niagara

A fort captured by the British in 1759 with the aid of Iroquois allies, during a time when Native populations were suffering heavily from smallpox contracted from Europeans.

Treaty of Paris (1763)

The treaty signed in February 1763 that ended the Seven Years War with a British victory and awarded Britain significant territorial gains.

Pontiac's War

A conflict launched by Natives in April 1763 in response to British colonists moving west of the Alleghenies into Native territory; ended in 1765 with revised British trade policies supplying Natives with weapons and land protections.

Proclamation of 1763

An October 1763 declaration by King George III stating that land west of the Allegheny Mountains belonged exclusively to the Natives.

British Sugar Act

A 1764 tax placed on American colonists by Great Britain to help pay down war debt accumulated from the Seven Years War.

Iroquois

Native allies who killed French negotiators in May 1754 alongside the British and later aided the British in capturing Fort Niagara in 1759.