The French and Indian War, 1754 – 1763 Ch. 9, Sec. 2

The Beginning While the English were settling the areas in and around the eastern coast, the French were busy claiming the interior of the continent. French claims were made in the Ohio River Valley, the Mississippi River Valley, the entire Great Lakes region and the territory of Louisiana. Montreal and Quebec were their two main settlements. French goals were to Christianize the various Native American tribes here and establish a major fur-trading operation. As a result, the French created several powerful alliances with the Native Americans.

The Ohio River Valley

Images of the American Frontier 1750 - 1790 The following images accurately depict Colonial woodsmen or hunters and various Native American people that were seen east of the Mississippi River at this time in American History.

English “Longhunter” camp, deep inside French territory.

Native American Alliances During the French and Indian War.

The English The powerful Iroquois nations sided with the British. This Confederacy was composed of the Oneida, Seneca, Onondaga, Mohawk, and Cayuga.

Typical colonial militia-men that fought for the British.

The French The Huron and Algonquin peoples of the Great Lakes region allied themselves with the French. Always an enemy of the Iroquois, alliances between the Europeans and the Native Americans led to involvement in each other’s wars.

The seeds for the French and Indian War were planted when British fur traders and hunters began moving into French territory in the Ohio River Valley in the 1750’s.

The French vowed to put a stop to the English and Colonial encroachment and small encounters began to erupt along the frontier.

In 1753, the governor of Virginia sent 21-year-old George Washington to tell the French in the Ohio River Valley to leave for once and for all!

The French bluntly refused Washington’s offer The French bluntly refused Washington’s offer. Washington is almost killed twice by nearly drowning in icy waters after his raft over-turned and being shot at by Huron Indians.

The Opening Shots After the French refusal to leave, the governor sent Major Washington back with a small force of colonial militia to build a fort near present-day Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. While on the march, Washington’s force ambush a small force of French soldiers, thus starting the French and Indian War.

A view of Fort Necessity, the fort that George Washington was ordered to build and defend in French territory.

A large majority of the fighting that took place in the war was unlike anything the French or the British had seen or been used to in Europe.

Much of the fighting was characterized by vicious hit and run raids, guerrilla warfare and savage Native American attacks on English colonies and settlements. Since the Native Americans fought by their own rules, men, women, and children were killed as well.

General Braddock’s Defeat When the war began, Great Britain realized that it could not rely on the American colonists to win the war themselves. Large numbers of British regular troops were sent to the colonies. Among these were General Edward Braddock, one of the most well-known soldiers in Europe. In the summer of 1755, General Braddock and his spectacular British army of over 2100 men marched boldly through the forest to Fort Duquesne, a major French fort in Pennsylvania. Eight miles from the fort, Braddock and the British troops were ambushed by the French and their Indian allies. The battle turned into a massacre as the British were totally and completely defeated with Braddock being killed along with 1,000 soldiers of his now retreating army.

Fort Duquesne

The British Capture Quebec After General Braddock’s defeat, there were other significant defeats for the British Army for the next two years. In August of 1759, the British made major preparations to try and capture the French capital city of Quebec in Canada. The fall of Quebec was the turning point of the French and Indian War. When the city of Montreal fell the next year, all of Canada was in British hands.

The Death of General James Wolfe At Quebec

Quebec as seen from space.

The Treaty of Paris For the next five years, Britain and France continued to fight in other parts of the world, making this conflict a global war. The war came to an end in 1763 with the signing of the treaty. Great Britain claimed all of North America east of the Mississippi River. Spain gained control of New Orleans and the Louisiana territory. French power and influence was effectively ended in North America.

Pontiac’s Rebellion, 1763

Pontiac’s Rebellion After the war, the British refused to give the Native Americans any help, as the French had. Large numbers of English settlers also began to move west of the Appalachian Mountains and take their ancestral lands. Led by Chief Pontiac, several Native American tribes in the Ohio River Valley began attacking and destroying British settlements.

The Proclamation of 1763 Despite crushing the rebellious Native American tribes, the British government in the colonies could see that defending the colonies against further rebellions and uprisings would be very costly. The Crown then passed the hated, Proclamation of 1763. This stated that NO colonists could trespass or settle west of the Appalachian Mountains.

Proclamation of 1763 The colonists felt that since they had helped to fight the French and Indian War and defeat Pontiac, then they were entitled to the land and all its benefits.

2. What did each hope to gain and what did they stand to lose? 1. Name the two European super-powers that were competing for control in North American during the mid-1700’s. 2. What did each hope to gain and what did they stand to lose? 3. Which group of people were caught in the middle and who did some of these people side with? 4. How would you characterize life on the frontier during this time in American history? 5. Why did Native Americans think it was beneficial to form alliances with the Europeans? 6. Explain why the Albany Plan of Union was significant. 7. List three causes and effects of Pontiac’s Rebellion.

John Williams, Last of the Mohicans Bibliography www.wikipedia.com www.davidwrightart.com www.lordnelsons.com www.dontroiani.com www.unitedstreaming.com John Williams, Last of the Mohicans