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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


AK

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


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