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

\