French and Indian War USI History | Ms. Burke

“A Personal Voice” “About sunrise, the chief officer of the fort came to our regiment and ordered all our men up to the falls to meet the wagons and teams. Our men seemed to be loath to go before they eat. Those that refused to turn out, he drove out, and some he struck with his staff, which caused a great uproar among us. Our people in general declare in case we are so used tomorrow, blows shall end the dispute.”

“A Personal Voice” What does this mean? The British and the colonists differed in their views about authority and individual freedom.

Rivals for An Empire France was Great Britain’s biggest rival in terms of an empire during the 1750s Biggest area they fought over – the Ohio River Valley Colonies sided with the British  they still thought of themselves as British AND they wanted to expand the colonies to the West!

France’s North American Empire France had begun its North American empire in 1534 under the direction of …. (Jacques Cartier) Controlled the Mississippi Valley and named it Louisiana in honor of King Louis XIV By 1754  the European population of New France was only 70,000 British colonies had over 1,000,000

France’s North American Empire Typical French Colonists: Fur traders Catholic priests NO desire to build towns or raise families MUCH friendlier to Native Americans when compared to British colonists Needed Native Americans to help their trade networks!

Britain Defeats an Old Enemy The outer borders of the French and British Empire continually clashed They had already fought two wars in the last 50 years The French built Fort Duquesne in the Ohio River Valley … but Virginian planters had already been given the land

Fort Necessity The Virginia governor sent a group of militia men to evict the French Lead by a 22 year old George Washington Established an outpost – Fort Necessity Washington attacked a French group of soldiers and they counterattacked, forcing Washington to surrender and abandon Fort Necessity This is the beginning of the War!

Early French Victories 1 year after he was defeated in Fort Necessity, Washington became an aide to British general Edward Braddock Braddock and Washington first launched an attack on Fort Duquesne (again) The British were used to orderly enemies who fought like them – so the Native American and French counterattack confused them and they fled (ran away)

Early French Victories Washington was very courageous Why do you think this is important? The defeats of the “invincible” British army surprised him and the other colonists

Pitt and the Iroquois Turn the Tide King George II was upset about the French victories in the New World He picked new leaders to run his government in 1757 William Pitt: Politician Inspired the British army to finally start winning Convinced the Iroquois to support the British

Pitt and the Iroquois Turn the Tide 1759 – British General James Wolfe attacked Quebec in the middle of the night and won

Treaty of Paris (1763) Ended the French & Indian War Great Britain claimed all of North America eat of the Mississippi River Great Britain claimed Spanish Florida Spain gained the French lands west of the Mississippi River Spain controls New Orleans

Victory Brings New Problems Native Americans were afraid the expanding British colonies would scare away game (animals) 1763 – Ottawa leader Pontiac realized the French loss was a Native American loss Led a rebellion and captured 8 British forts British troops gave Native Americans smallpox blankets and weakened their forces Ended the war by 1765

Treaty of Paris (1763) France kept a few small islands near Newfoundland (Canada) and in the West Indies Were these more valuable? Why? Native Americans were the true losers of the war – WHY?

Proclamation of 1763 To avoid more conflict with the Native Americans, the British created the Proclamation of 1763 Banned all settlement west of the Appalachians The EXACT land the colonists had just fought for! Impossible to enforce and colonists ignored it

The Colonies and Britain Grow Apart The colonists started thinking the British did not care about their needs The Proclamation Line was a HUGE issue The British government was bankrupt as a result of the war and needed to repay debts – so they began to tax colonists

British Policies Anger Colonists The most tension was between the British and Massachusetts Bay Colony British government cracked down on smuggling, one of the biggest ways the colonists earned money 1761 – royal governor allowed British customs officials to search any ship or building Also allowed British officials to search colonists homes!

Problems Resulting From the War 10,000 British troops were stationed in the colonies to control Native Americans and former French subjects Colonists saw the troops as an invading force that might turn against them at any moment

Problems Resulting From the War George Grenville King George III appointed Grenville to serve as Prime Minister in 1763 He raised taxes and enacted new policies that angered the colonists

Sugar Act (1764) Grenville forced Parliament to create the Sugar Act in 1764 Did 3 things: Halved the duty (tax) on foreign made molasses Hoped colonists would pay a lower tax rather than smuggle Placed duties (taxes) on certain imports Strengthened the enforcement of the law allowing prosecutors to try smuggling cases in a vice-admiralty court INSTEAD of a colonial court