Unit 4: French Colonization and the French & Indian War Lesson 2: The French & Indian War

Contest for Power  A basic cause of the war was that, by the early 1700s, France & England both wanted to be the richest & most powerful nation in Europe  Both countries had colonies in North America & the Caribbean, and both had trading outposts in Africa & India

France v. England  This contest for power led to 4 wars in Europe & North America  Only the war fought in North America resulted in major change  The French ended up losing all of their land on mainland North America

What’s the Difference?  The War fought in North America had 2 names:  1. The colonists over here called it The French & Indian War  2.Europeans called it The Seven Years’ War

Re-Cap  French settlements over here were to the north & west of the English settlements north & west of the English settlements  They also claimed land in the Mississippi River valley

Unwilling to Share  Both France & England claimed the Ohio Valley (west of the 13 English colonies)  They both wanted ownership of that land so they could trade for furs with the Native Americans

One more reason each country wanted the Ohio Valley  For France, the Ohio Valley was between Canada & their settlements in the Mississippi River valley (it would better connect their settlements)  For England, the settlers wanted to move west of the colonies

Who gets the land?  The side that could put up the better fight!  So in this part of the world, you had the French, the British, and the…  Native Americans

 If these were the 3 groups of people over here, and it was the French v. the British, what would likely be the deciding factor in one side being stronger than the other?  Who the Native Americans chose to support

Which side made the Natives a better offer?  The British could offer them more & better goods  The French offered them respect  Who would you go with?  They went with the French, who, unlike the British, tried to understand the Natives’ lifestyle

One Exception  The Iroquois sided with the British  They were powerful, controlled the fur trade along the St. Lawrence River, & controlled all boat travel on the Great Lakes

Remember?  The French built a string of military forts connecting all of their land between Canada & the Gulf of Mexico  They did this in 1752 to strengthen their claims in the Ohio Valley

 This made many British colonists, especially those in Virginia, furious  The governor of Virginia accused the French of trespassing on Virginia’s territory,  & he sent George Washington, a young major in Virginia’s militia, to tell them to leave

 The French commander refused to leave, saying that “no Englishman had the right to trade upon [the Ohio River].”

What happened next?  Washington led 150 soldiers from Virginia to build a fort on the Ohio River  He soon learned, however, that the French were already building a fort on the spot they’d wanted  (the French called it Fort Duquesne)

Did Washington do anything to get back at them?  In Pennsylvania, on his way to the proposed fort, Washington met a French scouting party,  ordered his men to attack them, & 10 French soldiers were killed

 Several more small battles took place in the Ohio Valley before war was officially declared  Then in 1755, about 2,000 British & 450 colonial soldiers went to capture Fort Duquesne  They were led by General Edward Braddock, with the help of G.Washington

The Problem Braddock Caused  Gen. Braddock was used to the way Europeans fought-  Soldiers lined up in neat rows in open fields  Washington warned him that this style wouldn’t work to fight the French & Native Americans over here

Braddock Didn’t Listen  On July 9, 1755, about 1,000 British soldiers were killed when the French fired from the woods and hills, rather than visibly from a field like Braddock expected  Braddock himself was wounded & died a few days later

And war still hadn’t even been declared yet!  They finally did so in 1756, & by mid-1757, the French & Native troops had captured 2 major British forts  The British King appointed William Pitt to take control of the war

A new leader pulls the British back up  The war was also being fought in Europe & India, but Pitt believed it would be won in North America  So he sent more troops & the British navy here, & in 1758 the British won several important battles

The hardest task of the war was to…  capture Quebec (capital of New France)  Why was it important to capture it?  Quebec supplied other French forts further up the St. Lawrence  Taking the city would cut off French soldiers’ supplies & make it harder for them to fight

Why would Quebec be so hard to capture?  It was a walled city on top of steep cliffs above the St. Lawrence River  Enemies who tried to climb the cliffs were easy to see & fire upon

 For these reasons, Quebec was able to resist the siege of 9,000 British soldiers for several months

 Eventually, though, the British found a rough, unguarded path winding up the cliffs a few miles away  During the night, 4,000 soldiers made their way up to the Plains of Abraham (grassy field outside the city)

 A battle broke out, the French were forced to surrender, & the British captured Quebec  This marked the end of French power in N.America, but fighting continued until 1760 when Montreal (New France’s other major city) was finally captured

Is it over yet?  In 1763, the French & Indian War officially ended when the British & French signed the Treaty of Paris  Treaty: a written peace agreement

Treaty of Paris  Results: England now ruled New France (Canada), the Ohio Valley,  & all French lands east of the Mississippi River (except New Orleans, which was ceded to Spain)

The bad thing about England winning the war  A major reason why English colonists had held onto their connections with England was so England would protect them against the French over here  After the war, the French were no longer a threat to the colonists  This contributed to the colonists’ desire to separate from England (ie: the start of the  Revolutionary War)

Why did everybody come?  Spanish :  riches, sea route to Asia  British :  Roanoke:  expand British empire  Jamestown:  riches  New England:  religious freedom  French:  riches, sea route to Asia, protect their land claims, missionary work

What did all 3 groups have in common?  Mercantilism:  A nation’s desire to expand its power by acquiring wealth & land