The French and Indian War

(A.K.A. 7-Years’ War)

Tension between England and France

• 1. The tensions are mostly about the land west of the English settlement in North America.

• A. The French claim the land but have almost no settlers there—just a few forts.

• B. The English colonists want the land because they are getting too crowded.

The Ohio Valley

• A group of investors from Virginia (including the Washington Brothers) form the Ohio Company to get land west of Virginia.

• Young George Washington leads a group of soldiers and Native Americans to expel the French from the area.

Fort Necessity

• Washington builds Fort Necessity.

• The French capture the fort, but Washington is let go to return to VA.

• The war has begun.

The War

• Iroquois—ally with Brits.

• Braddock’s Defeat (1755)

• William Pitt (1757)

The French and Indian War

• The war is fought all over the globe—North America, Europe, India, and the Caribbean.

• England eventually wins.

Results of English victory in North America

• England gets all of Canada and all land in North America east of the Mississippi River.

• Spain gets all of the territory west of the Mississippi River.

• The French are out.

Problems that arise in the aftermath

• 1. England becomes more involved in the running of the colonies.

• 2. Proclamation Line of 1763

• 3. Standing Army

• 4. How to pay for the war?

• Taxes on the colonists.