The Seven Years' War ( ) Battle for a Continent 4 years in North America- 7 years in Europe

Roots of War: The Ohio Valley  Conflict between French and English in Ohio Valley  Thirteen Colonies want to expand westward into fertile Ohio Valley  Main obstacle: French presence at Fort Duquesne

The Ohio Valley Conflict  1754: George Washington leads Virginia militia into Ohio valley, building Fort Necessity  French forces drive Washington from Ohio  1755: British General Edward Braddock sent into Ohio to defeat French  Braddock's army ambushed and killed by French and native forces

1756: Declaration of War  Britain and France officially declare war on one another  French forces in North America led by Marquis de Montcalm register early victories at Oswego and Fort William Henry

The British Response  Early French successes lead British Secretary of State William Pitt to change strategy  Pitt 's conclusion: war will be won or lost in North America  Pitt devises plan to capture significant French fortifications in North America using British and colonial military forces

Seige of Louisbourg (1758)  Spring 1758: British form expedition and lay seige to French fortress of Louisbourg  Fortress surrenders in July  Too late in season to mount an expedition against New France

Seige of Quebec (1759)  Spring 1759: British forces enter St. Lawrence and lay seige to Quebec  Several unsuccessful attempts to capture the Citadel throughout the summer of 1759  September 13, 1759: James Wolfe undertakes daring landing up river from Quebec

Battle of the Plains of Abraham  French commander Montcalm decides to march out of Citadel and fight Wolfe's forces  The two armies meet on the Plains of Abraham, where the French are defeated in a brief battle  French forces retreat up river to Montreal

Big Stairs! Big Stairs—they were not there during the siege of Quebec

Montreal (1760)  French forces regroup and winter at Montreal  Their only hope lies with the arrival of French reinforcements in the spring of 1760  British vessels are first to arrive, carrying soldiers that lay seige to Montreal  French forces surrender on September 8, 1760  War in North America ends

Treaty of Paris (1763)  War in Europe last another three years  Two sides sign Treaty of Paris (1763), ending Seven Years' War  France surrenders New France to Britain  Colony of New France transformed into the British colony of Quebec