The French and Indian War
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The French & Indian War
Guide
-BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
-in England the idea that kings ruled by God given “Divine Right” ends
(Glorious Rev.)
-for the colonies, this means that England will exert more control over them
-England will begin to start enforcing the Navigation Acts (no more Salutary
Neglect)
-series of wars in Europe (World Wars really)
-1688-1697 King William’s War (England attacks France at Quebec – fails)
-1702-1713 Queen Ann’s War (War of Spanish Succession) attacks on Port Royal
on St. Lawrence – use of Indian mercenaries – mostly guerrilla warfare
-1713 Peace of Ultrecht –England gets Nova Scotia & 2 Carr. Islands
-Spain loses territory in Italy & Austria (Gibraltar to Spain)
-Colonists were used to fight in these wars and taxed to pay for them
-after 1713 Parliament & the king tighten control over the colonies
-result more navigation acts were passed & increased smuggling by colonists
-1744-1748 King George’s War (War of Austria Succession)
THE SEVEN YEARS WAR: (1756-1763)
-war fought in Europe, North America, & India
-the part of the war fought in North America is called the:
THE FRENCH & INDIAN WAR:
-colonists will need increased cooperation and defense
-many powerful Indian tribes (Iroquois & Creeks) will play a role
-France in the North America controls the colony of Quebec & other areas
(New France)
-New France slow population growth, controlled by king, most valuable
resource are furs, cities include Detroit, Cadallac, New Orleans, Quebec
-the fighting in Europe will spread to North America
-Competition between England & France in North America
-many English land speculators (including G. Washington) claim lands
(500,000 acres) in disputed territory – France also claims the land
-French built a series of forts in these areas (Duquesne)
-fighting will soon break out
*Native Americans will fight on the side of France (except Iroquois)
-the French & Indian War
EVENTS OF THE WAR:
-1754 Governor Dinwiddle (Virginia) sends Major George Washington (age 21)
and 150 men to tell the French to get out of the area near the Allegany &
Monongahela rivers – the French have a fort located there call Fort Duquesne
-Washington attacks a small French force outside the fort
-Washington waits for the counter attack and builds Fort Necessity to defend
his men
-1754 Battle of Great Meadows
-French attack Fort Necessity – force Washington to surrender the fort on
July 4th
-Washington & his men withdraw back to Virginia
THE ALBANY PLAN OF UNION (1754)
-proposed by Ben Franklin
-delegates from 7 colonies & Iroquois met in Albany New York
-discussed Indian raids along the border caused by French aggression
-Franklin’s Plan – to centralize & unify colonial defense problems & Indian
affairs
-calls for a GRAND COUNCIL
-elected colonial assembly (2-7 delegates per colony)
-led by a President General appointed by the King
-taxes to pay for a single unified armed services for all colonies
-regulate trade, Indian relations, & boundary disputes
-plan is rejected by colonies (feared losing power & did not like army)
-plan is rejected by king (did not like colonial army- threat to the crown)
*significance – 1st attempt to unify the colonies (not ready yet)
THE WAR CONTINUES:
-1755 England sends a General to lead the colonial army
-General Braddock
-Braddock & the English attack Ft. Duquesne for a second time
-Washington warns Braddock that classic European style warfare will not work
-European warfare calls for large columns of men lined up across from each
other
-Battle of the Wilderness: England is badly defeated – Braddock is killed
-French & Indians use guerilla tactics (hide, spread out)
-1756 the war is going very bad for England in both North America & Europe
-England & Prussia vs. France & Austria
-1757 New leadership in England
-William Pitt “Great Commoner” takes over as Prime Minister
-Pitts decides to try to win the war in North America first
-sends troops, excellent generals, & money
-balance of power shifts to the English
-1758 England attacks & captures Ft. Duquesne rename Ft. Pitt (Pittsburgh)
-1759 French withdraw from Ticonderoga & Crown Point – English capture Ft.
Niagara
-1759 BATTLE OF QUEBEC:
General Wolfe (English) vs. General Montcalm (French)
-Quebec City was well defended (large cliffs on one side)
-Wolfe knew most of the French troops would not be defending the cliffs
-British scale the cliffs and attack the city on the Plains of Abraham
-British win the battle and the war in North America
-French driven out of Canada (other French forts near Great Lakes were
deserted)
THE TREATY OF PARIS (1763):
-France gives up all claims to Canada to England
-France gives up all land East of the Mississippi River to England
-West Indies go back to the control of the nation before the war
-Spain receives more land west of Mississippi plus the city of New Orleans
in another European treaty (Treaty of Ildefonso 1762)
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR:
-England & the colonies worked together to defeat France – created pride in
Empire
-the war left England victorious, but broke – no more foreign threats – no
longer needed the colonies for protection – no more Salutary Neglect –
Navigation Acts enforced
-England needed taxes to raise revenue. Since the colonies benefited from
the war(safety from French & Indian attacks) they should pay for it with
taxes
-debt = 140 million pounds (English money)
-colonists had seen that English troops were not invincible – British
officers had treated colonial soldiers with no respect -colonist began to
smuggle goods to Spain & West Indies to avoid Navigation Acts
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