French and Indian War

Key Cause of the French and Indian War

• The Ohio River Valley
• French & British both claimed Ohio River Valley
  • Value of Ohio River Valley
  • Lucrative fur trade
  • Access to Mississippi River

France Claims Western Lands

• French were exploring the North American Interior while the English were settling on the Eastern Coast.
• French Explorers had claimed the Ohio River Valley, Mississippi River Valley and the entire Great Lakes region.
• French Main settlements: Quebec, Montreal. Population 80,000 people.

Native American Alliance

• English and French competed for Furs. 
• The Fur Trade created an economic and military alliance between the Europeans and their NA trading partners
  • This led to involvement in each other’s wars. 
  • When France and England’s wars in Europe fueled wars in the colonies.

Conflict in the Ohio River Valley (ORV) 

• The seeds for the French and Indian War were planted when the British fur traders began moving into the ORV
• British and French were planning to settle colonists in the ORV. The French and their N.A. allies became alarmed
• To keep the British out of the valley Charles de Langlade destroyed a nearby village and a British trading post
• The French built forts to protect the region linking their Canadian and Louisiana settlements. 
  • This upset the Virginia colony who had laid claims to the ORV
  • The governor of Virginia sent a small group of soldiers to tell the French to leave

George Washington and the Ohio River Valley

• 21-year-old George Washington: colonel in the British Army
  • Ordered to deliver a message to French to leave Ohio River Valley
  • French refused & built Fort Duquesne
    • Washington ordered to return to Ohio River Valley & remove French soldiers
    • French forced Washington to surrender after ⅓ of his men were killed or wounded

Braddock’s Defeat

• British military officer Edward Braddock
  • Many defeats, did not listen to George Washington 
• French & their American Indian allies inspired fear on the British frontier by burning and pillaging settlements

The British Take Control of the War

• William Pitt took over wartime operations
  • Turned recruitment & supplies over to local authorities
  • Committed more troops to the war effort
  • Replaced many of the military officers
• British capture Louisbourg
  • Important strategic port

The Decisive Battle

• British commander James Wolfe sent forces up a rocky embankment to surprise the French
• The battle was fought on the Plains of Abraham
• British won and took control of the stronghold
• Shortly after the British won the Battle of Quebec they took control of Montreal 
• This was the turning point of the war

Massacre at Fort Loudoun 

• Fort Loudoun was key in allying with the Cherokee
• Cherokee warriors killed by Virginia frontiersmen
• Incident after incident began happening
• Fort Loudoun was attacked on March 20, 1760
  • Under siege 
• Commander surrenders
• Cherokee attacked again 
• All but one officer was killed; the remainder of the party captured

The Treaty of Paris 1763

• The Treaty of Paris (1763) officially ended the French and Indian War
  • Terms of the treaty harsh to French
  • All French territory on mainland North America was lost
    • British received Quebec & Ohio River Valley
    • Ohio River Valley marked by Appalachian Mountains in east & Mississippi River in west
    • Port of New Orleans & Louisiana Territory west of the Mississippi River were ceded to Spain
    • Britain gave Cuba and Philippines back to Spain for Florida

Effects of the French and Indian War

• Experience of the French and Indian War divided the British & American colonists

  • British troops looked down on colonists
  • Puritans in New England found the redcoats profane
  • Resistance among colonists to help British until Pitt promised to reimburse colonists 
  • Colonial smugglers continued to trade with French throughout the war

• Experience of the French and Indian War united the American colonies

  • Intercolonial rivalries broken down in the face of a common enemy  ( the British )

  One of the first signs of nationalism in colonies was seen when settlers from all 13 colonies laid down their lives together in battle

Pontiac’s War/Rebellion

• Many Native Americans  continued to fight against European settlement of land west of Appalachian Mountains 
  • Pontiac, a chief of the Ottawa, led numerous attacks against British colonial expansion/settlement 
  • One factor that lead British to attempt to ban colonists from settling west of Appalachian Mountains

The Proclamation Line of 1763

• Britain set Proclamation Line of 1763
  • Prohibited American colonists from settling west of Appalachian Mountains
• Reasons for Proclamation Line of 1763
  • Widespread settlement = British administration of colonies extremely difficult $$$
  • French inhabitants in Ohio River Valley not willing to give up land/trade routes
  • Britain did not want further conflict with Native Americans
  • Already in debt from French and Indian War
• Colonists outraged by Proclamation
  • Felt entitled to land west of Appalachian Mountains after colonial blood had been shed in French and Indian War
• Proclamation was ignored by many colonists
  • Nearly impossible for British to enforce the law