Part 1 Rivalry in North America The Road to Revolution Part 1 Rivalry in North America

Competing Land Claims in North America By the mid 1700’s Europe’s great powers were competing for trade and colonies around the world. This competition came to North America as well. The three major competitors were: Spain, France, and Britain.

3 Great Competitors Spain claimed most of Central America, the Caribbean, and the Southwest. France claimed the St. Lawrence River area of Canada, the Great Lakes region, and a huge region drained by the Mississippi. England claimed upper portions of Canada, as well as the 13 colonies along the Atlantic coast.

Conflict in the Ohio River Valley At first most English settlers were content along the coast. Then many began to push across the Appalachians in search of furs. The French were determined to keep the English out. They especially wanted to protect the Ohio River because it was a vital link between Canada and the Mississippi River.

Native Americans choose sides “You and the French are like the two edges of a pair of shears. And we are the cloth which is to be cut to pieces between them.” *A Native American protesting to an English trader.

Competing for Allies France believed many Indians would side with them because they were trappers and traders. Many had also married native women. France did gain Algonquin and Huron support. English settlers did tend to clear forests for farm land, and they built towns and villages. To gain support, the English started charging less for their goods. They gained support of the powerful Iroquois nations.

Trading for European Goods

The beginnings of conflict Three times between 1689 and 1748, Britain and France had fought for power in both Europe and North America. Each time the war had ended in an uneasy peace. By the 1750’s war was about to break out again.

Major George Washington challenges the French Washington had grown up on a plantation in Virginia. At age 15, he began work as a surveyor where he went to frontier lands in the western part of Virginia. When the governor of Virginia wanted a warning message delivered to the French, Washington volunteered to do it. He was eager to prove his worth.

The Young Major Washington

Trapped at Fort Necessity Washington, and about 150 men were sent to build a fort where the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers meet. This spot is crucial, because it is where the Ohio River begins. Along their way, they heard that the French had already built a fort on the spot called Fort Duquesne. Washington and the men continued on.

Washington and his men surprised and scattered a French scouting party in the woods. Knowing that the French were going to counterattack, he and his men quickly built a fort called Fort Necessity. Unfortunately for them, a large force of French and Indians surrounded the fort, and they were forced to surrender. Soon after, Washington was released to go back to Virginia. The French and Indian war had begun.