to the western frontier. They could now safely extend their supply lines into French territory, putting the French at a major disadvantage. This can be seen as the major turning point in the conflict.

Treaty of Paris

On February 10, 1763, the French signed a peace treaty after a series of major military losses. As part of the Treaty of Paris, they ceded nearly all of their North American holdings to the British (and some to the Spanish as well). Although fighting with some Native Americans allied to the French continued for a short time, this treaty officially ended all inter-European conflict of the war and completely redrew the colonial map of North America.

There were certainly many other important events of the French and Indian War. The battle of Fort William Henry, the formation of native alliances, the capture of Detroit, the siege of Quebec, and the capture of Montreal are just some other examples of major events associated with the war. However, the three described above are in my opinion some of the most crucial.

Aside from ousting the French from a substantial part of what was to become the United States, as well as removing the French from Canada, thereby giving the British unrestricted access to million of acres of contiguous territory, the French and Indian War all but spelled the end Native American influence in the eastern colonies.

Because many of the American Indian tribes supported the French, particularly in the Midwest and Upper Midwest, when the French were defeated and stopped their material support of the Indians, those tribes were forced to turn to the English for support who, in many cases, forced treaties on the Indians that effectively denied them access to lands they had lived on for hundreds of years.  The treaties also opened thousands of square miles to westward expansion, which also helped to displace Native Americans and hastened the end of their freedom.

In addition, American colonial troops fighting alongside the British during the war were generally treated as untrustworthy amateurs, treatment that bred a deep-seated and lasting dislike of the British military.  American troops also saw gross mis-management of the war on the part of the British, including the defeat of large British armies by the French and Indians, and this confirmed the belief among American colonial troops and, most important, American officers that the British could be beaten.  The Americans took this knowledge and experience with them and put it to use during the Revolution.

The French and Indian War erupted because of conflicting claims between Great Britain and France over lands in the Ohio River Valley. George Washington, then a colonel in the British army, was sent into the area to remove Frenchmen in the area. When he encountered a small French force, a skirmish broke out which erupted into a full scale battle. The end result was the French and Indian War, commonly known as the Seven Years War, and the first truly global war.

The war ended with the Peace of Paris of 1763 by the terms of which France surrendered its territories in North America, primarily to Great Britain. Its major consequence is that it set in motion a series of events which would ultimately culminate in the American Revolutionary War.

The French and Indian War was part of a larger, worldwide conflict known as the Seven Years’ War.  The part that was fought in North America was called the French and Indian War.  It lasted from 1756-1763.  They were a few reasons why this war was fought. 

One reason had to deal with control of land, especially land in the Ohio Valley. As the British expanded their colonies, they began to infringe upon French settlements.  There was some concern the British would take over French lands.

Tied into this idea was the concern that the British would compete with the French for the valuable fur trade that took place in the Ohio Valley.  The French had no intention of letting Britain take over or reduce this very profitable economic activity. 

Finally, control of land meant having more power.  France didn’t want England moving into this area and reducing French power. 

The French and Indian War was fought from 1754 and 1763 between the British and French colonies in North America. Both sides were extensively supported by Indigenous allies, including the Iroquois and Catawba fighting with the British troops and the Algonquin and Wabanaki with the French. The conflict began as a struggle for control of an area at the confluence of the Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers, in what is now downtown Pittsburgh. The first battle was fought when George Washington, then a twenty-two year-old lieutenant colonel, ambushed a small force of French colonists commanded by the Sieur de Jumonville on May 28, 1754.

The early years of the war went well for the French colonists, as the British were severely under-resourced and the French had more Native American support. However, the tide began to turn when the Pitt-Newcastle ministry came to power in Britain in 1757 and William Pitt made the war a priority. When the British prevailed, the French gave up almost all their North American territories under the 1763 Treaty of Paris, leaving Britain with undisputed dominance over North America.

The French and Indian War was part of a large conflict called the Seven Years War that lasted from 1756-1763. The part of Seven Years War fought in North America is called the French and Indian War.  In this war, the French and most Native American tribes fought against the British.  The French and British were rivals.  Most Native American tribes were friendlier with the French, and that is why they supported France in this conflict.

The result of the French and Indian War was significant.  When Britain defeated France, France decided to give up all of its land in North America. The land east of the Mississippi River, except New Orleans, went to Britain while the land west of the Mississippi River, plus New Orleans, went to Spain.  By gaining control of the land east of the Mississippi River, Britain would now be free to continue to develop its colonies without the threat of conflict with France.  If France had won this war, it is possible Britain would have had to give up their colonies.

The French and Indian War was a very important event for Britain.  Plus, it had a big effect on the North American continent and its future.

This was the fourth war between Britain, France, and Spain. The war was mainly fought over disputed territory along the Ohio River. American colonists wanted to get in on land speculation and the fur trade in the area. Also, Britain stationed many troops in the area in order to eventually force the French out of Quebec once and for all. The war started in 1756 when George Washington led a military expedition into the Ohio country and attacked a French outpost. The French attacked and took Washington's small force. Britain escalated the war by sending more troops, thus launching what would be called the Seven Years' War, otherwise known as the French and Indian War.

One of the early battles in the war consisted of British general Edward Braddock being defeated by a combined French and Indian force at the Battle of the Monongahela. Braddock marched his troops into the forest without the use of Indian scouts, and he was ambushed by the French and their native allies, who only suffered minor casualties. The early battles of the war did not go well for the British, as they struggled to adapt to the wooded terrain. American colonists fought alongside British units and, eventually, with their own Indian allies, formed Ranger units who engaged in guerrilla warfare and harassed French settlements.

The British were able to win the war due to their naval superiority and their willingness to equip and supply their North American forces. The battle for Quebec on the Plains of Abraham was the only European-style battle of the war, and it was also the turning point of the war, as France lost Quebec. The British navy also seized many French possessions in the Caribbean; these were considered more valuable than the North American continent due to the booming sugar trade. The Treaty of Paris (1763) ended the war with France ceding its North American possessions to Britain. Spain joined the war late on the side of France, and it too suffered defeat, losing Havana in a naval battle with the British. In order to bring Spain to the bargaining table, Britain gave Havana back to Spain in return for Florida. France was also given back some of its sugar islands in the Caribbean. Spain also gained what would be known as the Louisiana Territory. The land itself was not valuable, but the Spanish desired it as a buffer zone.

The results of the war would have major implications for the American colonists. The British saw how American shippers flouted the Navigation Acts and even traded with France and Spain during the war. Parliament wanted to end the era of salutary neglect in order to pay for the expensive war against the French. In Parliament's eyes, the colonists received most of the benefit of the British force. The colonists saw the taxes as being unfair. They thought they were treated unfairly after helping Britain defeat the French in the war. Britain also issued the Proclamation Line of 1763, which prohibited any colonial settlements west of the Appalachians. This made influential land speculators such as George Washington upset. France wanted revenge and would join the colonial cause against the British—even though its treasury was still depleted from the other wars. The Indians, who could formerly play both the British and French, now only dealt with the British. While the British offered better trade goods at cheaper prices, they would not be the solid ally that the French were. The British sought to control territory by claiming it, while the French were content to station small groups of traders, trappers and missionaries in Indian territory.

There were several significant aspects about the French and Indian War. One aspect was that it led to the French departure from North America. After France was defeated, the French gave all of their land east of the Mississippi River, except for New Orleans, to Great Britain. France also gave all of their land west of the Mississippi River, plus New Orleans, to Spain. As a result, France was no longer in control of land in North America.

Another significant aspect of this war is that it led to a series of events that would eventually lead to Great Britain losing the thirteen colonies they had in what is now the United States. As a result of the French and Indian War, the Native Americans were fearful of what would happen after Great Britain took over the land France previously controlled. There were attacks against British settlements, as evidenced by Pontiac’s Rebellion, and more threats existed. As a result, the British passed the Proclamation of 1763 to keep the colonists safer from attacks.

The Proclamation of 1763 prevented settlement in these newly acquired lands. The colonists were unhappy with this law because they wanted to be able to get ownership of the newly available land. Some colonists refused to follow this law. When the British passed the Quartering Act that required the colonists to provide housing for British troops that would enforce this unpopular law, the colonists became more upset. Later more laws, such as taxes laws like the Stamp Act and Townshend Acts, were passed angering the colonists even more. Thus, what should have been a positive event for Great Britain, the winning of the French and Indian War, turned into a negative event for them, the losing of the colonies after the Revolutionary War.