French & Indian War

In North America in the mid-1700s, the French territory (blue) was much bigger than the British territory (red) giving them a big advantage over the British in resources. France also had ownership of the Ohio River Valley. This territory was wanted by the British because of its natural resources, fur trade, and many more things. The British had a border with the French here that could spark a big war.

The French and Indian war started in 1754 and ended in 1763.

The bigger conflict it was part of was the Seven Years War which was a large global conflict.

Portrait of George Washington from his time in the French and Indian War.

The war's battles took place in many parts of North America including New York, Pennsylvania and Quebec. It also happened at many waterways including Lake George, Lake Ontario and the Hudson River.

France and Great Britain fought each other in the war with the help of Native Americans. The Iroquois, Catawba, and Cherokee tribes supported the British. French colonists were supported by Abenaki, Mi'kmaq, Algonquin, Lenape, Ojibwa, Ottawa, Shawnee, and Wyandot tribes. The French built a new fort in the disputed Ohio Valley territory, and the British decided to expel them. Fighting began with the Battle of Monongahela in 1755. The British commander, General Edward Braddock, died with many of his men in a failed attack against the French in what later became Pittsburgh. Militia officer George Washington led the defeated survivors home. In the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, the British conquered Canada.

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The war took place because the British wanted to settle in the Ohio River Valley because there were natural resources. They wanted to seek more farmland and trade with the Indians. Their colonies bordered the Valley. The French, however, already had colonies there which meant that the British had to fight to control the land. This was the major motivation for the French and Indian War.

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Both the French and British wanted the territory of the Ohio River Valley. It was part of a larger world conflict called the Seven Years War.

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The Treaty of Paris in 1763 gave all French territory on the mainland of North America to the British. The British were given Quebec and the Ohio Valley. They gave New Orleans and the Louisiana Territory west of the Mississippi to Spain for being their ally. With the Royal Proclamation of 1763, colonists in British North America became unhappy over their share of the winnings, especially because many had fought on the side of the British army in the war. Great Britain owed a lot of money after the war and they started to tax the colonies. This made the colonists angry and eventually they rebelled and started the revolutionary war.

The war resulted in the French losing their land they had previously had in North America. Spain and Great Britain gained this land.

THE END

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