French and Indian War
French in North America:
-Land was originally claimed by French explorers
-French fur traders used the Ohio River area for fur trading
-French government built forts to stop English from taking the land
British in North America
-The English colonies grew and prospered
-New colonists were looking for more land
-Free or cheap land offered new opportunities and economic freedom
-English government built forts and started to grant land to its citizens
The Last of the Mohicans:
-Written by James Fenimore Cooper
-The Last of the Mohicans is part of a series of four books called The Leatherstocking Tales
-Follows the life of a colonial boy and his Native American friend
Three Causes of the French and Indian War:
The Fur Trade:
Earliest and most important industry for French (business) in North America. In the 1500s-1800s, Beaver fur was used to make hats, they were the fashion in Europe
Land:
English colonists bought 500,000 acres of land in the Ohio Valley to farm. This would hurt the French colonial fur trade. This brough economic, religious, and political conflict between the English and French in the Ohio River Valley
Indian Relations:
French have better relationships with Native Americans. The English wanted to take their land for farming. Most French colonists were fur traders and trappers. The French only wanted the fur. They didn’t want to stay on the land. They lived among the Indians and adopted their ways. They learned to make canoes, trap animals, make snowshoes, and etc. They learned Native American languages. They took Native American brides (Bi-racial children).
-The English attack Fort Dusquesne. The attack was a disaster and was the beginning on the French and Indian War
-The war was fought on two continents (North America and Europe)
War:
-In America, they fought over control of the entire Western frontier including the Ohio River Valley
-In Europe, France and England began to fight in what was called the Seven Years War
Advantages of Each Side:
British/American Colonies:
-Larger Population (1,485,000)
-Militias (Poorly organized and equipped)
-They were ready at a moment’s notice
-Fighting the Indians for over 100 years
-Self supporting
-Produced enough food and supplies
French Colonies:
-Single Colonial Government
-One government meant less discussion during decision making (American colonists didn’t always agree to follow British orders)
-Pattern of Settlement
-clustered together (towns were close together)
-Well-fortified positions
-Build high on cliffs
Disadvantages of Each Side:
British/American Colonies:
-Colonial Assemblies
-Each colony jealousy guarded its own power
-Fighting an Offensive War
-Attack Quebec and Montreal to win the war
French Colonies:
-Smaller population (75,000)
-Depended on imports
-British controlled the seas
-Troops
-France sent few troops over
-Defense fell to the fur trading companies
Native American Involvement:
British/American Colonies
-Iroquois League
-Mostly neutral, but did fight occasionally
-Chief of the Mohawks
-Joseph Brant
-became a colonel in the British army
French Colonies
-Algonquins Ottawas, and the Huron
-Longtime trading partners
-Didn’t trust the land grabbing white settlers
The Albany Plan
1754 - Delegates from nine of thirteen colonies met in Albany, New York
-Ben Franklin (drew it up), delegate from Pennsylvania came to Albany with a “Plan of Union or “Albany Plan”, a loose union or compact between the colonies
Battle of Quebec
-Canada
-Turning point of War
-September 13, 1759
-British approach Quebec by sea and climb cliffs-surprise attack
-Plains of Abraham
-French caught off guard
-Commanders of both armies die in battle
-British claim victory
-French surrender in America a year later on September 6, 1760
War Ends:
-France and Britain continued fighting in Europe for 3 more years
-Treaty of Paris is signed on February 10, 1763 (this ends the war)
-France surrenders all land in North America to Britains
Results of War:
-Britain gained control over half the North American continent, including Canada, all French territorial claims- everything east of the Mississippi River, and Spanish Florida
-British decide to reevaluate their relationship with the colonists
-Want to re-establish control
-The British government also faced pressing financial problems. They owed a lot of money
-Britain began fighting in 1754 with a national debt with a national debt of approximately 75 million pounds, but the war effort caused the debt to soar to 133 million pounds by 1763
Proclamation Line of 1763
-The British declared that American colonists would not be allowed to set up or keep settlements west of an imaginary line running down the crest of the Appalachian Mountains
Important Things to Remember
-French vs. British and American Colonists with Native Americans fighting on both sides
-War in North America and Europe, over land, farming, and furs
-Ben Franklin draws a political cartoon and writes the Albany Plan to try and get the colonies to work together
-Britain and British colonists won the war
-The Treaty of Paris, 1763, officially ends the war
-France loses North America and the British take over their land
-Proclamation Line of 1763 which is Englands attempt to control the colonies