1. The French & Indian War The Start of the End

2. Before the War  By the 1670s tensions had arisen between New England colonists and a Native tribe known as the Wampanoag. Metacomet, a Wampanoag leader also known as King Philip, opposed the colonists’ efforts to take his people’s lands and in 1675 a conflict erupted known as King Philip’s War. Colonial militia and Indian warriors each attacked each other’s settlements, killing men, women, and children. The fighting finally ended in 1676, but only after 600 colonists and some 3,000 Indians had been killed.

3. Native American Allies  Some Native Americans allied with the colonists to fight against Metacomet and his forces. These Indians had developed trade relations with the colonists and depended upon them.  French colonists traded and allied with the Algonquian and Huron.  English colonists traded and allied with the Iroquois Confederacy.

4. Native American Allies  Many American Indians trusted the French more than they did the English. The smaller French settlements were less threatening than the rapidly growing English colonies.  No matter who their allies were, many Indian leaders took care to protect their people’s independence.

5. The English Colonies  By 1750 the populations of the colonies had grown from 50,000 to more than a million people.  Since their start, the American colonies had been left to govern themselves. Each colony elected its own assembly to pass laws and create taxes. Each assembly also decided how the colony’s taxes should be spent.

6. Conflict in the Ohio Valley  As the colonies grew, settlers began moving across the Appalachian Mountains and into the Ohio Valley – the region between the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. The British colonists wanted to settle there to take advantage of the valuable fur trade and also have room for their colonies to expand.  Both Britain and France claimed this area.  The French believed this settlement by British would hurt their fur trade profits. The French build three forts to protect their area.

7. Conflict in the Ohio Valley  The governor of Virginia ordered a small force of Virginia militia, led by 22-year old George Washington, to order the French out of the valley. Washington presented a letter to the commander of the French demanding an immediate French withdrawal from the Ohio Valley. The French refused.

8. Conflict in the Ohio Valley  Washington was returned to Virginia and once again told to return to Ohio Valley. On his way back, Washington and his Native allies came across a group of Frenchmen in which Washington opened fire. Washington and his troops then moved back where they build a small fort named Fort Necessity, which came under attack. After suffering many casualties, Washington finally surrendered. His defeat in 1754 was the start of the French and Indian War.

9. The French & Indian War  In 1755, Britain sent 1,400 British soldiers to Virginia to finish the job that Washington had begun. They were led by a bumbling general named Edward Braddock. Washington joined the army as a volunteer, hoping to make a good impression on General Braddock.

10. The French & Indian War  The British army’s march into the Ohio Valley was a disaster. The troops’ bright red uniforms made them perfect targets for French sharpshooters and their Indian allies.  Two-thirds of the soldiers were killed including Braddock. Washington himself narrowly escaped death – “I had four bullets through my coat and two horses shot under me.” Washington led the survivors back to Virginia, where he was greeted as a hero.

11. Treaty of Paris  The French and Indian War raged for seven long years (and is why it is also referred to as the Seven Years War). The turning point came in 1759 when the British troops captured Canada, but the war dragged on for four more years.

12. Treaty of Paris  In 1763 Britain and France signed the Treaty of Paris, officially ending the war.  The terms of the treaty gave Canada to Britain and all French lands east of the Mississippi River except the city of New Orleans and two small islands.  From Spain, which had allied with France in 1762, Britain received Florida.  The Treaty of Paris changed the balance of power in North America and soon British settlers began moving west to settle new lands.

13. Western Frontier  Colonial settlers, or pioneers, slowly moved into the Virginia and Carolina backcountry and the Ohio River Valley, but many Indian leaders opposed British settlements of this new land and continued to attack British forts on the frontier.

14. Western Frontier  British leaders feared that more fighting would take place on the frontier if colonists kept moving onto American Indian lands. To avoid more conflict, King George III issued the Proclamation of 1763.  This law banned British settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains. The law also ordered settlers to leave the upper Ohio River valley.