Transcript The French and Indian War

The French and Indian
War
and its connection to European expansion in the Americas
Background Information
 1750s - France was Great Britain’s biggest rival when it
came to building a global empire
 The French were not interested in creating settlements on
their territory - they wanted furs and economic gains
 Native American tribes typically trapped the beavers and traded the
furs to the French for guns, hatchets, blankets, mirrors and lead
 Because of their economic co-dependence, the Native
Americans and French developed military alliances
Causes of
the French &
Indian War
Look at the map and
describe possible causes
of the French & Indian
War.
Competing European Claims
 France and England had
competing claims for land
in North America.
 The French held trapping
and trade routes in the
Ohio Valley.
 The English colonies were
moving in on French
territory as the population
grew.
 Competed over trade
issues with the Native
Americans in the disputed
region.
European Claims in 1754
The Albany Congress
 1754 - war was inevitable.
 The colonies sent delegates to Albany to
discuss strategy for common defense.
 Approved a plan written by Benjamin
Franklin
 A council would be made of elected
representatives from each colony and
headed by a President-General appointed
by the crown.
 The colonies themselves did not support
and it is unlikely that the British
government would have supported the
plan.
"Join or Die" (1754) published by Franklin is
considered the first political cartoon of the
colonies.
Build-Up to the War
 The French set up forts in Ohio River
valley to protect their fur trading
interests.
 Some of these forts conflicted with
English claims.
 1753 - Virginia Governor sent a young
George Washington to deliver a
protest to the French.
 This protest was ignored.
 The British sent a militia to construct a
fort on the site of modern Pittsburg.
Young George Washington
War Begins
 The militia, led by Washington, established Fort Necessity
60 miles from Fort Duquesne (French)
 Washington’s militia attacked a small group of French
soldiers and took some prisoners
 However, the French retaliated on a much larger scale Washington was forced to surrender
British Response
 June 1755: British General Braddock sets out
from VA with about 1,400 red-coated British
troops and a some colonial militias to attack
Fort Duquesne.
 Braddock’s army took several weeks to trek
through dense forest to Ft. Duquesne
 They marched in columns and rows, and took
time out everyday to sit and have tea
 Washington tried to suggest changing their
fighting tactics so they would not be as easily
defeated – Braddock refused
 The British force was defeated by the smaller
French force and their Native American allies.
 Both Braddock, and the French commander
Beaujeu, were killed.
Pitt as Prime Minister
 1757- William Pitt became the British
Prime Minister and vowed to lead
country to victory
 Pitt concentrated on:
 expelling the French from North
America
 buying the cooperation by the
colonists by stimulating the
economy with a massive infusion of
British currency
 buying the support of the Native
Americans with promises of fixed
territorial boundaries.
The Battle of Quebec
 September 1759: British general James Wolfe finds a way to attack
the capital of New France: Quebec
 Perched high on a cliff overlooking the St. Lawrence River the capital
was thought of as impossible to attack
 A scout for Wolfe found a poorly guarded path up the back of the
cliff
 Wolfe’s soldiers overwhelmed the guards on the path and
scrambled up it at night
 Waited outside the Fort on a field called the Plains of Abraham
 Here they surprised and defeated the French Army
 Wolfe died in the battle
Alliance with the Natives
Treaty of Easton
 1758: The Treaty of Easton sealed
France’s fate
 British promised the Natives they
would stop settling west of the
Allegheny Mountains in exchange
for Natives’ neutrality in the war.
 French abandoned Fort Duquesne
 1760 - Detroit and Montreal (the last
two French strongholds in North
America) had fallen.
The Treaty of Paris
 1763 - Treaty of
Paris ended the
French and Indian
War.
 Spain gained all
French land west of
the Mississippi River
 England gained all
land east of the
Mississippi River
Effects of the War
Proclamation of 1763
Effects on Native Americans
 Reserved British land
 Weakened by war
west of the Appalachian
Mountains for Native
Americans
 Gave British officials
control of westward
migration
 Slowed movement out of
cities that were centers of
trade and prosperity
 British felt the Iroquois did
not fully support them and
no longer felt friendly
toward them.
 Proclamation of 1763
actually took native lands.
 Settlers often ignored the
Proclamation.