Transcript French And Indian War 1754-1763

French and Indian War
1754-1763
The French and Indian War Objectives
 What were the causes of the French and Indian
War?
 How did the British win the French and Indian
War?
 How did the war weaken the colonists’ loyalty to
Britain?
What Was The French & Indian War?
The “French and Indian
War”, the colonial part of
the “Seven Years War”
that ravaged Europe from
1756 to 1763, was the
bloodiest American war in
the 1700’s. It took more
lives than the American
Revolution, involved
people on three
continents, including the
Caribbean.
Why The War Began…
 Rivalry for the West, particularly for the valley of the
upper Ohio.
Steps To War
 In 1748 a group of Virginians interested in Western
lands formed the Ohio Company, and at the same
time the French were investigating possibilities of
occupying the upper Ohio region. The French were
first to act, moving south from Canada and founding
two forts….
 How would you have responded?
Causes of War
 The French and Indian War was the final chapter in a long
struggle among the French, the British, and various groups
of Native Americans for control of eastern North America.
 It was called the French and Indian War because
the British and their American colonists fought
against the French and their Indian allies.
 The conflict began because both Britain and France claimed
the upper Ohio River valley territory.
 In June 1954, Benjamin Franklin proposed the Albany Plan
of Union. The plan was based on the idea that the British
colonies would benefit from greater unity, just as the
Iroquois nation had strengthened itself by forming the
Iroquois League.
 The colonists rejected Franklin’s plan, but it later
provided a model for the United States
government.
 Early in the war, the French and their Native
American allies won many important victories.
 The British troops and colonial militia, armed
citizens who served as soldiers during an
emergency, tended to fight in the open and in
straight lines, as was common in Europe.
 The French and Native Americans used the
element of surprise and hid behind rocks and trees.
French
Methods of
Fighting:
Military
Organization:
Military
Discipline:
Demeanor:
• Indian-style guerilla
tactics.
British
• March in formation or
bayonet charge.
• Colonial militias served • British officers wanted to
under own captains.
take charge of colonials.
• No mil. deference or
protocols observed.
• Casual,
non-professionals.
• Drills & tough
discipline.
• • Prima Donna
British
officers with
servants
& tea settings.
The British Win the War
 In 1756, Great Britain formally declared war on France.
 Fighting spread to Europe and Asia, but the British
suffered defeats there too, as they had in America.
 William Pitt, Britain’s prime minister, the highest
official in a parliamentary government, believed that
the entire British Empire was at stake. Pitt persuaded
Parliament to raise taxes and borrow money to fight
the war.
 In 1758, better-prepared and better-led British troops
began to overwhelm the French and Native American
forces.
 In spring of 1759, the British began a campaign to invade
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New France and capture Quebec.
British General Wolfe laid siege to the city. During a siege,
an enemy force is surrounded; trapped and without access
to supplies, the enemy is starved into surrender.
The British successfully won Quebec, and then Montreal,
giving them control over all of New France.
The Treaty of Paris (1763), officially ended the French and
Indian War in America and the Seven Years’ War in
Europe.
In the treaty, France turned present-day Canada over to
Britain and surrendered its claim to all lands east of the
Mississippi River. Britain also returned Cuba to Spain in
exchange for Florida.
1763  Treaty of Paris
France --> lost her Canadian possessions,
most of her empire in India, and claims
to lands east of the Mississippi River.
Spain --> got all French lands west of the
Mississippi River, New Orleans, but lost
Florida to England.
England --> got all French lands in Canada,
exclusive rights to Caribbean slave trade,
and commercial dominance
in India.
Weakened Loyalty to Britain
 Despite the victory, the French and Indian War
seriously strained relations between the British
and the American colonists.
 The British thought that the colonists did not
provide enough support for the long and costly war
that Britain had fought to protect them.
 The American colonists were shocked by the
weakness of British military tactics. The Americans
demanded to be led by colonial officers.
 Many American colonists felt a loss of respect for
British military power. Many also believed that the
British did not share the same values as the
colonists.
 Now that the French no longer held Canada or the
region west of the Appalachian Mountains, the
colonists saw no reason why they should not
expand and prosper on their own, without British
help. These feelings would soon combine with
events to expand the rift between Britain and its
colonies.