French & Indian

War
Chapter 5
Section 1
 European Rivals in N.
America
• Europe was in a struggle for empires.
– Spain
– Great Britain
– France
• All wanted to establish colonies all
over the world.
• Proxy war in America for supremacy
• France claimed everything from St.
Lawrence R. west to Great Lakes and
south to Gulf of Mexico
• Protected it with extensive fort system
and Indian help
• Conflict in the Ohio Valley
– English were no longer content to
stay by the coast
– 1740’s settlers began to cross
Appalachians into France’s territory
– France wanted to protect this area
because they needed the Mississippi
River to link there lands
• Native Americans Choose sides
– France was sure they had Indian
support because they did not move in
on the Indian’s land. Worked with
Indians.
– England was sure they would have
Indian support because of trade
relationship
– Intermarriages between French and
Indians and British and Indians tested
loyalties
– Algonquin and Huron Indians went
with France
 French & Indian War Begins
• 3 times between 1689 and 1748 Great
Britain and France warred in Europe
• 1754 the 4th war broke out
• Control of the Ohio River Valley was at
stake
• George Washington’s men fired the first
shots
• A Bold Young Leader
– 22 years old land surveyor
(Washington)
 – Led 150 men into Ohio country only to find
the French had already constructed a fort
where he wanted one
– Fort Duquesne
• Conflict at Fort Necessity
– Washington led a surprise attack that
scattered the French
– Took over Fort Duquesne and renamed
it Fort Necessity
– French and Indians surrounded the
fort and captured Washington and his
men. After surrender, released
Washington
• Albany Congress
– Delegates gathered in Albany, New
York
– Cement alliance with Iroquois and
plan a united colonial defense
– Ben Franklin proposed the Albany
Plan of Union
– It stated that- one general
government, make laws, raise taxes,
set up defense led by the Grand
Council
– Delegates liked it, not one assembly
member approved it
 A String of British
Defeats
• 1755 General Edward Braddock led
colonial troops at Fort Duquesne. Over
confident he was killed and troops
defeated.
• Disaster for Braddock
• Not accustomed to this new warfare,
Braddock’s troops in their red coats and
loud marching were easy targets
• Washington was also shot and wounded
 The Tide of the Battle
Turns
• 1757, William Pitt take control of the
troops
• Pitt sends Britain’s best generals to N.
America
• Winning was the only option for Pitt
• Canada’s most important fort,
Louisbourg was captured
• Fort Duquesne recaptured and
renamed Fort Pitt and Pittsburg grew on
the site of Fort Pitt
 The Fall of New
France
• By 1759 British had pushed French out
of Fort Ticonderoga, Niagara, Crown
Point,
• Battle for Quebec
– Quebec was on the Plains of Abraham
– Used to supply forts up the St.
Lawrence River
– General Wolfe snuck in under cover
of darkness and greeted Montcalm in
the morning
– Wolfe was killed but got the victory
• Treaty of Paris
– September 18th 1759 French
surrendered
– Treaty of Paris marked the end of
French control in America
– Britain got Canada and all land east
of Mississippi except New Orleans
– French kept 2 islands in Gulf of St.
Lawrence and West Indies
– Spain got Florida and New Orleans for
helping Britain
– Peace would reign for the next 17