The French and Indian War

The battle for North America

1754-1763

Introduction• Twenty years before the

American Revolution, France and Britain's struggle for North America sparked a world war.  Called the French and Indian War, it would change the face of America, especially for the American Indians and the colonists.

Points of View: French

• Trade with the American Indians is the basis of France's North American economy, and they think British trade and settlements are encroaching on this. In order to protect the Ohio Valley for trade, the French build forts in the Valley to try to expel British traders.

Points of View: English

• The British colonies in America are growing fast, and to them, land means wealth and opportunity. British settlers want to settle the Ohio Valley, and seek more farmland, in addition to lucrative trade with the Indians.

Indians Point of View

A lifestyle to protect • The American Indians had a strong

trading relationship with the French, as well as the British. In addition to wanting to maintain their way of life in the Ohio Valley, the Indians had become dependent on European goods like weapons, rum, metal tools and cloth, and needed to protect their trade relationships.

Causes?

• King Georges War left issues unresolved, namely the issue of Louisbourg.

Competing Claims in Ohio

• France's influence in North America was tied to the fur trade -- they set up trading posts in Canada and around the Great Lakes, and maintained relationships with the native Indians. 

Ohio Country

• Meanwhile, British colonists settled along the Atlantic coast -- pushing the American Indians further inward.  In the 1750's, France and Britain were both building empires, and came to blows over the land between their American settlements -- the Ohio River Valley. 

Indian Stakes• Indians also called this land

home, and they would play a valuable role in the war by tipping the balance of power in favor of one of the European empires.

Course of the War

• Robert Dinwiddie orders Washington a young 22 year old with little to lose to Fort Duquesne to head off the French Advance.

Washington’s Reputation Grows

• Washington builds a fort at Fort Necessity.

• Later he and “Mingo” allies, defeat and scalp (against his orders) a French scouting group.

• The French response is swift.

7/4/1754

• The beginnings of British troubles. Washington surrenders to the French at Necessity.

The Iroquois

• Initially the confederacy sides with the France, albeit in a supporting role…not as active participants. Even this proves to be a devastating turn of events for the British. Certain factions of the Iroquois lent their support to the British.

• Switch sides after the French grow too powerful in 1757.

Albany Plan of Union• Based on the

Iroquois Confederacy (even the names)

• President (appointed by Crown)

• Grand Council of 48 colonial delegates chosen by the colonial legislatures.

Washington’s Legacy Grows

• The battle for Fort Duquense

• Problems of British approach

• Death of Braddock

• Appointment of Washington

Course of the War

• British defeat after defeat though 1758

• Indian raids devastated colonies

• Tide Turns in 1758

1758: Good News for Britain

• Iroquois switch sides

• Rise of William Pitt• Brings a new spirit• Encourages

colonist to fight the war by announcing they will NOT have to pay for the war.

British Gains

• 1759: Wolfe takes Louisburg

• 1760: Wolfe takes Quebec

Consequences

• Acadian Evacuation• Huge portions of

the French Canadian population is deported…such as the Acadian (Cajuns) who were sent to Spanish controlled New Orleans.

Consequences

Consequences• Proclamation of

1763

Consequences

• France loses all claims to lands East of the Mississippi, gives land West of the Mississippi to the Spanish for their contributions to the war.