French and Indian War – 1754-1763

French and Indian War – 1754-1763

The French and Indian War (1754-1763) was a war between England, the American colonies and the Iroquois Confederacy against the French and Algonquin Indian tribes. The French controlled the Mississippi River and claimed the Ohio River Valley. They began building forts in the area. The British started to build their own forts. The French expanded into areas that the British had claimed. In 1754, Major George Washington was sent by Virginia’s governor to evict the French from Fort Duquesne. Washington came upon a French scouting party and ordered his men to open fire. Washington’s men killed 12 Frenchmen and wounded 22. The war was on. In November 1758, the British recapture Fort Duquesne from the French. In 1759, the British won the Battle of The Plains of Abraham, which allowed them to occupy Quebec. The next year they captured Montreal, and thus completed the capture of Canada, effectively ending the war in North America. The War officially ended on February 10, 1763, with the signing of the Treaty of Paris. When the war ended, France was no longer in control of Canada. The Indians that had been threatening the American colonists were defeated. France officially ceded all of its holdings in North America, west of the Mississippi. The cost of the war and of controlling the newly acquired territories was high. The British looked to the colonies to help pay those costs. That began the long spiral of events that led to the American Revolution.

Major Historical Figures: Jeffrey Amherst, Edward Braddock, James Wolfe, James Abercrombie, Edward Boscawen, George Washington, Louis-Joseph de Montcalm, Marquis de Vaudreuil, François-Marie de Lignery, Chevalier de Lévis

Source: http://www.historycentral.com/revolt/french.html