Transcript The French and Indian War

The French and Indian War
The Seven Years War
How did this Begin?
Changes in land Claims of 1689 and
1713
 Before 1689 almost all of the land
belonged to Spain and France with Britain
only starting.
 By 1713 France was dominating North
America and Britain was spreading up and
down the coast.
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Differences between French and
British colonization
The French mostly had fur traders and
posts in North America so they could get
goods
 The French were more inland and made
friends with the Indians.
 At the same time the English were settling
for good on the shore, making homes and
government.
 They were all there to start a new life.
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Wars Before
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King William’s War: In Europe a war fought between
the Grand Alliance and France which also embroiled the
colonies. The entire war was battled over who would
reign in England. In the colonies the Indians were
fighting for the French. In 1697 fighting ceased due to
the Peace of Ryswick which restored Port Royal to the
French.
Queen Anne’s War: The second of the four imperial
wars that were fought between Britain, France and
Spain. It took place from 1702-1713. Though many
Spanish colonial towns were captured and burned by
English forces, American colonists met with military
failure creating a feeling of dependence on Britain. The
war ended with Peace of Utrecht.
Wars Before…
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Peace of Utrecht: Treaty that ended Queen
Anne's War in 1713. Due to this treaty France
had to give up Acadia, Newfoundland and the
Hudson Bay territory to England but got to keep
Cape Breton Island. The treaty also introduced a
period of peace in which the American colonists
experienced growth economically and politically.
War of Jenkin’s Ear: This war was British
versus Spain. It was fought in Georgia and North
Carolina. The Treaty would draw the boundary
officially between Florida and Georgia.
Wars Before…
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King George’s War: War fought between
Britain, France and Spain. It took place not
only in Europe but also in North America
with American colonists supporting the
British with thousands of troops. In the
Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle; Britain gained
lands in India but lost Louisburg, which
embittered Anglo-American relations.
1754-1760
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The Seven Years' War (called the French and
Indian War in the colonies) lasted from 1756 to
1763
It formed a chapter in the imperial struggle
between Britain and France called the Second
Hundred Years' War.
In the early 1750s, France's expansion into the
Ohio River valley repeatedly brought it into
conflict with the claims of the British colonies,
especially Virginia.
What happened?
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During 1754 and 1755, the French defeated in
quick succession the young George
Washington, Gen. Edward Braddock, and
Braddock's successor, Governor William Shirley
of Massachusetts.
In 1755, Governor Shirley, fearing that the
French settlers in Nova Scotia (Acadia) would
side with France in any military confrontation,
expelled hundreds of them to other British
colonies; many of the exiles suffered cruelly.
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Throughout this period, the British military effort
was hampered by
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lack of interest at home
rivalries among the American colonies
France's greater success in winning the support of the
Indians.
In 1756 the British formally declared war
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marking the official beginning of the Seven Years'
War.
Their new commander in America, Lord Loudoun,
faced the same problems as his predecessors and
met with little success against the French and their
Indian allies.
Important People
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Edward Braddock: commander of British forces in America in 1754.
General Braddock led British and colonial troops in an expedition
against the French at Fort Duquesne.
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Most of the troops, (900 out of 1200) including Braddock, were killed in
an ambush.
Young George Washington, a member of this expedition, managed to
organize the survivors and lead the retreat to safety
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Iroquois Federation: A federation of Indian tribes in New York —
Cayugas, Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, and Senecas. Known as
the "Five Nations," they fought with the British during the French and
Indian War and the American Revolution
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William Pitt: He joined the British leaders and turned things around.
He began to treat the Americans like equals or allies instead of
subordinates. This lead Americans to feel a sense of pride and a
renewed sense of spirit that sent them into several victories that
made France eventually concede.
Important Battles
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Fort Duquesne: This was the fort that General Braddock
tried to take during the French and Indian War but him
and his troops were slaughtered in an ambush at the
Monongahela, where 900 of the 1200 troops were
wounded or killed. Later General Amherst captured the
fort.
Wolfe, Montecalm, Quebec- the Plains of Abraham:
The battle between General Wolfe and General
Montecalm in which both were killed . It ended with the
capturing of Quebec and was one of the final steps that
lead Montreal to surrender, thus making Canada no
longer a threat.
The Tide Turns…
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The tide turned in 1757 because William Pitt, the new British leader,
saw the colonial conflicts as the key to building a vast British empire.
Borrowing heavily to finance the war, he paid Prussia to fight in
Europe and reimbursed the colonies for raising troops in North
America.
In July 1758, the British won their first great victory at Louisbourg,
near the mouth of the St. Lawrence River.
A month later, they took Fort Frontenac at the western end of the
river.
In 1759 they closed in on Quebec, where Gen. James Wolfe won a
spectacular victory on the Plains of Abraham, September 1759
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although both he and the French commander, the Marquis de
Montcalm, were fatally wounded.
With the fall of Montreal in September 1760, the French lost their
last foothold in Canada.
Soon, Spain joined France against England, and for the rest of the
war Britain concentrated on seizing French and Spanish territories in
other parts of the world.
The End…The Treaty of Paris
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At the peace conference in 1763, the British
received Canada from France
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But permitted France to keep its West Indian sugar
islands and gave Louisiana to Spain.
Spain recovered Cuba and the Philippines, but ceded
Florida to England.
The treaty strengthened the American colonies
significantly by removing their European rivals to
the north and south and opening the Mississippi
Valley to westward expansion.
Why was it Important?
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This war spanned three different continents and
it was the main factor in the ending of "salutary
neglect."
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In 1763, with the Treaty of Paris, Britain became
the overwhelming power in the North America.
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This war planted the seeds of misunderstanding
between Britain and the colonies and indirectly
was one of the causes of the Revolutionary War.