The French and Indian War

The Basics The French and Indian War took place Between 1754 to 1763 It took place across North Eastern America and South Eastern Canada Although it is called the French and Indian War, the War was between the British and the French with the Native Americans fighting on both sides In Europe it is known as the Seven Years War since war was not technically declared until 1756 Through its conflict, this war would both bring to end a series of long territorial debates between Britain and France It would also begin to mark the beginning of a strong sense of American identity in the colonists, separate from their identity as British citizens

The British and the French The British and the French have a long history of fighting Theirs was a rivalry which was born in the time of William the Conqueror, solidified by the 100 Years War, and came to a boil during the age of imperialism All across the world, they were fighting over colonies In Europe, they picked opposing sides in almost every war This war would set off a territorial war in almost every continent between the two countries

Their American Colonies

How the British Used their Colonies From the beginning, colonization was one of the goals of British in regards to their American territories By the time of the war 1.5 millions Brits lived in America These colonists had to report back to England, but had a fair amount of self government Protects grown, harvested, or caught by the colonists (such as tobacco, lumber, and beaver pelts) were sent back to Britain in staggering volumes A fur trade had been established with the Native Americans, the products of which were also largely shipped back to Britain

How the French Used their Colonies Opposed the British, who lived in large numbers in their American colony, the French rarely lived in theirs At the time of the French and Indian War, French colonies supported only 80 thousand opposed to the 1.5 million British colonists But like the British, the French used their lands for the natural resources an trade good available there They had a well established and very profitable fur trade In this fur trade, they would buy furs from the Native Americans to sell back in France

The Native Americans Since the Arrival of Europeans on America soil, the Native peoples had suffered continually First, European diseases had killed millions. Sometimes, entire villages were wiped out Then they found Europeans encroaching further and further into their land, despite promises not to Sometimes, the Native Americans and the Europeans were able to get along. Both sides benefited from trade and the Europeans benefited from Native knowledge of how to cultivate the land However, they were more often meet with hostility Wars and skirmishes between Tribes and Europeans were common Treaties made between the Native Americans and Europeans were broken more often than they were kept

Relations with the Native Americans The British  Were involved in trade with the Native Americans  Had taken over much of their land to build homes and farms for the colonists  Were infamous among tribes for breaking land agreements  Had fought regularly with local tribes The French  Were involved in heavy trade with the Native Americans  Rarely colonized the land they claimed in America, leaving it free for the Native American’s continued use  Would have the occasional broken contract or conflict

That Which Sparks the Conflict In 1750, a group of Virginians known as the Ohio Land Company (among whom were two of George Washington’s brothers) asked for, and were given control of, 500 thousand Acres of land in the Ohio River Valley by the King This land, however, had already been claimed for the French

Chief Pontiac (Chief of the Ottawa) “These lakes these woods and mountains were left to us by our ancestors. They are our inheritance and we will part with them to no one …”

PerspectivesPerspectives Things to consider –Who are you? –What do you want from the colonies? –What do you currently get from the colonies? –How do you feel about the other groups? –How much power/ how many resources do you have to react with? The Question to answer –What will you do now?

What Actually Happened In order to prevent the British from taking land which they see as their own, the French built a series of forts in the Ohio territory The British responded by sending 21 year old Major George Washington to tell the French to leave The French said they would not This soon lead to the first battle of the French and Indian War, the Battle of Jumonville Glen Initially, most Native American’s took the side of the French, believing that they give them better treatment and more freedom than the British if they won the War And for the first few years, it seemed as if the French would win, but then the crown cut their funding, a plague hit their Native allies, and British got smarter

The War Movie – part 3 35:00- 54:00

The Treaty of Paris A year after the fall of Quebec, the French took another devastating loss when the British captured Montreal This ended the fighting in North American In 1763, The Treaty of Paris was signed In regards to the American territories, the Treaty decreed that –England receives Canada and France’s land east of the Mississippi River, England also receives Florida from Frances ally Spain –Spain receives French land West of the Mississippi River (the Louisiana Territory) as well as the port of New Orleans

Their American Colonies After the War

The Numbers Around 2,000 Brits and Colonists died in the French and Indian War Around 3,000 Frenchmen died in the War The number of Native American casualties was undocumented Word wide, the Seven Years war would kill 600 to 500 thousand military men and almost and many civilians

Results of the War The French lost all claims to American soil The French and Indian War, along with the British’s other conflicts against the French, left Britain in such crippling debt that it almost collapsed the British government economy Due to fighting with and commanding a few of their own armies, Colonists gained a sense of capability, separate from their ties to the British Colonists become increasingly annoyed with British bias towards natively born Brits over colonists In order to prevent another costly war with the Native Americans, the British forbid the colonists to settle in the very land over which the War was started over In order to pay for the War, the British would implement a series of Taxes and Acts upon the colonists

How much influence do you believe the French and Indian War will have in regards the creation of the Revolutionary War?