French and Indian War
Jan 12, 2016
French and Indian War
•The French and the English had been fighting each other in Europe for many years and this carried over to the colonies.
Life in the colonies was different if you were French or English!
French• Interior of the
continent• Temporary
settlements and trading posts
• Hunted, fished, and traded
• 90,000 settlers
English• Along the coast• Permanent
settlements and farms
• Farming, communities, towns
• 1.5 million settlers
Battles between the French and the British Colonists
• King William’s War – 1689-97– French attacked English villages– English invaded parts of Canada– Ended with all land being returned to original owners
• Queen Anne’s War – 1702-13– French attacked English villages– English invaded parts of Canada– English attacked Spanish held Florida (Fr. Ally)– Ended with England gaining some Canadian lands
• King George’s War – 1744-48– French attacked English villages– English invaded parts of Canada– Ended with France gaining some New
England territory
French Build Forts• The French built forts along the Ohio River from
Lake Erie through PA to keep English trappers from crossing the Appalachian Mts.
English get alarmed!!!
• English want access to the land too!
• English soldiers are sent out to build forts along the same area – Area that they claimed as part of VA– Led by George Washington
Washington starts the War!• A message was sent to the
French commander to stop construction, but it was ignored
• Washington marched on Fort Duquesne without waiting for reinforcements killing a French military leader
• French surround Washington’s base at Fort Necessity– English retreat
War
• French– Won most of the battles due to expertise in
forest warfare– Had support of the Native Americans because
they did not want to change their lifestyle
• British– William Pitt took command and changed the
tactics
Albany Plan – Plan for the colonies to unite on behalf of the British –
Rejected by King
International Event
• Seven Years War -1756-63
• Spain aided the French
• France gives Spain
Louisiana (All land west
of Mississippi River)
Impact of the War
• British redrew map of the world– Outside of North America they returned the
land they gained– French lost
• Canada• Ohio and Mississippi River Valleys
– Spain Lost• British Florida• Gulf coast to the Mississippi
French and Indian War and Impact on American Colonies
• The west was opened for American expansion
• New Issues were created– Britain borrowed money to pay for war– Larger empire cost more to defend– How was the new and larger empire to be
governed– Native Americans
Proclamation of 1673
• Bans British settlements west of the Appalachian Mountains
What predictions can you make as to what will come next and why do
you think so?