Transcript French and Indian War

French and Indian War
European Competition
• All four leading powers are in a struggle for
control
– England, France, Spain, and the Netherlands
• Greatest rival for the English in North America
was the French.
– France controlled a vast majority of the interior
territory from the St. Lawrence River to the Gulf
of Mexico.
French Presence in the New World
British and French Conflicts
• Between 1689 and 1748, there was a series of
wars fought between the British and the
French.
– Most of the fighting took place in Europe but each
war ended with a treaty that did not really change
anything.
• Eventually, war reached North America and
the colonists were drawn into war.
Native American Influence
• The British knew that in order to drive the
French out of North America, they had to get
rid of French advantages.
– Relationship with the Native Americans
• Native Americans, who inhabited the regions
between the two competing powers received
many generous gifts from both powers.
– Weapons, ammunition
Canasatego, Iroquois Leader
July 7, 1742
“We know our Lands are now become
more valuable. The white People
think we do not know their value;
but we are sensible [aware] that the
Land is everlasting, and the few
Goods we receive for it are soon
worn out that gone…Besides, we are
not well used [treated] with respect
to the lands still unsold by us. Your
people daily settle on these lands, and
spoil our hunting…your horses and
cows have eaten the grass our deer used
to feed on.”
Native American Influence
• Native Americans wanted to continue to receive
gifts from both powers
– Required a balance of power between the two
• Balance between France and Britain began to
shift as the British population in the colonies
grew.
– French colonists were greatly outnumbered by the
British colonists by 1754
• British began treating the Native Americans very
harshly and began taking even more land.
Native American Influence
• The French showed more restraint
– Treated Natives with respect and generosity in
comparison to how they were treated by the British
• French helped hold off British colonial
expansion
– Established forts along territorial boundaries
– Manned and protected by the Native Americans
Ohio River Valley
• A point of conflict between Britain and France
– Both powers claimed the area, but it was largely
unsettled
• Fort Duquesne built by the French to
discourage British settlement.
– Angered the British, especially Robert Dinwiddie,
governor of Virginia.
– Sent troops to remove the French from the fort in
1754, led by George Washington.
Fort Duquesne
Washington’s Attack
• Washington’s attack on a small French force
was successful
• French counterattack forced Washington to
surrender.
– Defeat sparked the French and Indian War, known
as the Seven Years War in Europe.
French & Indian War- Initial Battles
• Britain initially did poorly in the war
• Britain was able to evict French troops from an
area near Nova Scotia
• Britain encountered defeat when troops marched
into a French and Indian ambush near Fort
Duquesne.
• French destroyed British forts, Indians raided
British settlements.
• British cut off French shipping to the Americas,
which caused some Natives to change sides for
the better supplied British.
End to War
• British gained control of French forts and
Montreal.
– Forced French governor general to surrender the rest
of Canada
– Accomplished their major goal
• Treaty of Paris (1763)- ended the war between
France and Britain.
– Canada, Ohio River Valley, Great Lakes Region, and
Florida were given to British
– Mississippi River marked boundary between British
and Spanish in North America
Aftermath of the French and
Indian War
Native American Reactions
• Surrender of Canada to the British was bad
news for the Indians of the interior.
• Indians could not play the French and British
off of one another anymore.
British Reactions
• Cut off supply of goods to the Indians
• Settlers flooded into Indian areas and took the
land.
• Many Indian tribes were affected
Pontiac’s Rebellion
• Native Americans attacked and captured many
British forts
• Native Americans raided British settlements
• Uprising called Pontiac’s Rebellion
• Goals:
– Weaken British
– Bring French back into North America
• Natives failed to gain control of the three largest
British ports: Detroit, Niagara, and Fort Pitt,
formally known as Fort Duquesne.
End of the Rebellion
• Because supply lines were cut, Indians were
unable to resupply ammunition and gun
powder.
– Caused an end to the rebellion
– New British commander, Thomas Cage, interested
in respecting Natives
• Natives and the British made peace
– British restraint, Proclamation of 1763
Proclamation of 1763
• Called for colonial settlers to remain east of the
Appalachian Mountains
“And whereas it is just and reasonable, and essential
to our Interest, and to the Security of our
Colonies,…the several Nations or Tribes of Indians
with whom We are connected, and who live under
our Protection, should not be molested or disturbed
in the Possession of such Parts of our Dominions
and Territories as…are reserved to them, or any of
them, as their Hunting Grounds.”
Effects of the Proclamation of 1763
• Troops were outnumbered by colonists, so they
were not really able to limit expansion
– Destroyed cabins built by colonists, colonists
rebuilt them
• Colonists were irritated by Britain’s attempt to
control their expansion and settlement
War Aftermath
• Tensions between Britain and the colonies increased
– Britain wanted more control of the colonies
– Britain wanted help paying war debts
• Albany Plan of Union: drafted by Benjamin Franklin,
plan called for colonies to unite under British rule and
cooperate with one another
– Created American continental assembly
• Plan failed
• Britain imposed new taxes and regulations on the
colonies
– Angered colonists