French and Indian War Aka “The 7 Years War”

Introduction  The French and Indian War ( ) was a seven-year-long war between Britain and France.  Although fighting began in 1754, the war did not officially begin until  They were fighting for the control of much of North America.  This war was a part of a larger war that was going on in Europe.

Quick Summary  By the 1600’s colonists were taking over Native American land  France had forts west of the colonies and were afraid of the colonists expanding  1754: George Washington (British) was forced to surrender at Fort Necessity

Early Part of the War  The English did not do well during the first years.  Virtually all Indian tribes were with the French.  The Iroquois were on the British side

Middle Stages of War  Wiliam Pitt brought the war effort fully under British control.  He forced the colonists to provide supplies, equipment, shelter, and manpower.  This made the colonists angry, and some even became violent

Scalping  Scalps were decorations.  The French and Native Americans used English scalps to decorate canoes  Major Robert Rogers "found... hanging on poles over their doors, about 600 scalps, mostly English.”

Final Part of the War  In 1758 Pitt relaxed many of the policies that the colonists were mad about.  This resulted in an immediate increase in American support for the war and a lot more colonists joined the British Army.

Treaty of Paris  In July of 1763, the war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris  Britain gets all of the land in pink

How did it affect us?  The colonists had learned to unite against a common enemy  Colonists wanted to move west into where the French had been  Native Americans were against this, such as Chief Pontiac  The war cost $$$, so who was going to pay for the expenses?