1. The French and Indian War

2. Competing European Claims

3. Who?
French and Indian war was the result of disputes between France and Great Britain that had been going on for over 65 years

4. Why? Basically, greed and fear-
Greed: who could get the most land in the New World and control the natural resources
Fear: one country would gain more power than the other

5. Why, continued
Great Britain had a strong alliance with the six tribes of the Iroquois Confederacy
French were trading partners with many of the western Native American tribes
French had better military leadership, unlike the British colonists AND they didn’t argue among themselves as much

6. What
Tension between the two countries increased because both claimed the area of the Ohio River Valley-this was a huge frontier region in which British traders had formed profitable agreements with many Indian tribes that had formerly traded only with the French

7. What…
1753, Virginia’s governor sent George Washington to warn the French that they Ohio River Valley did not belong to them
A year later, Washington was again sent with the same message but this time he didn’t go alone-he had 150 Virginia militia troops with him

8. The Battle of Fort Necessity
The French set up forts to protect their fur trading interests.
Some of these forts conflicted with English claims.
Virginia Governor Dinwiddie dispatched a young George Washington in 1753 to deliver a protest to the French. This protest was ignored.
The British sent a party to construct a fort on the site of modern Pittsburg.
Young George Washington

9. What, what …
22 year old Washington set up a stockade that they called Ft. Necessity, and after a scout reported French soldiers in a nearby camp, Washington’s men attacked and forced the French to surrender
The French later retaliated and Washington was forced to surrender

10. Sooo…
This was the beginning of the French and Indian War, or Seven Years’ War, as it was called in Europe
The British suffered many losses but were eventually victorious and the frontier came under British rule

11. Georgia’s Role
Georgia did not take part in the war but it was helped by the war
The Treaty of Paris of 1763 which formally ended the war, set Georgia’s western boundary at the Mississippi River

12. The Treaty of Paris
The 1763 Treaty of Paris ended the French and Indian War.
The French transferred its claims west of the Mississippi to Spain and ceded its territory east of the Mississippi to the British.
The Treaties of Easton and Paris limited colonization to the Eastern seaboard.

13. The Royal Proclamation of 1763
Violent incidents such as Pontiac's Rebellion prompted the English crown to attempt to mandate an end to encroachments on territory promised to the Indians.
Settlers were not to establish themselves west of the “Proclamation Line.”
The effort was unsuccessful and is viewed by many to be a leading cause of the Revolutionary War.

14. Results… British gained control of Canada
The western frontier was opened for settlement
Great Britain obtained Florida (Spain had been allied with France)
France gave the Louisiana Territory to Spain
France lost all land
AND…

15. The Biggie… The French and Indian War led to the American Revolution
After the war, Great Britain had a huge war debt and decided to tax the colonist to cover those expenses