French and Indian War Causes Great Britain and
French and Indian War
Causes • Great Britain and France were rivals for empire in North America. • Settlers from both nations had designs on settling the rich lands west of the Appalachian Mountains, often called the Ohio River Valley. • As a result, both nations made claims on this territory and a race began to see who would control it.
French and Indian War (1754 – 1763) • The British claimed 500, 000 acres of land in the Ohio River Valley…that they really had no claim to. • George Washington, a young military officer, to scope it out and keep the land from the French. He established “Fort Necessity” to protect himself and his men from the attacking French troops that were trying to run them out of their land. • After years of being defeated by the French, the British started to gain ground against the French. • Stealing tactics from the Native Americans, guerilla warfare, was instrumental in finally defeating the French and Native Americans.
Conduct
Conduct Ben Franklin draws the cartoon above to encourage all of the colonies to unite and support the British in the French and Indian War.
Albany Plan of Union • The Albany Plan of Union, proposed by Benjamin Franklin and Massachusetts governor Thomas Hutchinson, called for colonial unity in the face of the coming war with France.
• The Albany Plan of Union called for a Grand Council with representatives from each colony. • The Grand Council would: - make laws - raise taxes - defend the colonies • None of the colonies approved the plan out of fear of losing power. * The Albany Plan of Union set an example that would later be followed by such gatherings as the First and Second Continental Congress.
The mural depicts some of the delegates to the Albany Congress (from left to right): William Franklin and his father, Benjamin (Pennsylvania); Governor Thomas Hutchinson (Massachusetts); Governor William Delancey (New York); Sir William Johnson (Massachusetts); Colonel Benjamin Tasker (Maryland).
Causes • In 1754 the French built Fort Duquesne at the point where the Ohio River forms (modern day Pittsburgh). • The governor of Virginia (who claimed this territory) dispatched a militia under the command of a young officer named George Washington to remove the French. • After a series of battles near Washington’s hastily built Fort Necessity, Washington was forced to surrender.
French and Indian War: Alliances Alliance - a formal agreement by two or more nations to act together in a cause • France, versus Spain (1762), Algonquins, and Hurons • Great Britain and the Iroquois
The Death of General Wolfe by Benjamin West, 1770 General Wolfe was one of the generals appointed to defeat the French and killed using Native American tactics.
Conduct • The French had developed strong trade and military alliances with several Indian tribes in North America (Huron, Ottawa etc) • Early on the French and their Indian allies defeated the British and their colonial allies in battle after battle. • King George II selects William Pitt to take the lead in the war effort. • Pitt’s leadership leads to British victories and an alliance with the powerful Iroquois Confederation. • The key battle was near Quebec. This British victory basically won them the war.
French and Indian War Effects: The Treaty of Paris was signed in 1763, ending the war. The Treaty of Paris • Britain gained Canada and all of the French land east of the Mississippi River. • Spain gained all of the French land west of the Mississippi River. • Spain gave up Florida to Britain. The French and Indian War 1754 -1763 (4: 18)
French and Indian War What now? Help us…we’re poor… • England had two huge problems after the war was over: Debt and angry Native Americans • In order solve the angry Natives problem, King George the III issued the Proclamation of 1763. Draws an imaginary boundary at the Appalachian Mountains and tells the colonists that hey can’t move west of the mountains in order to keep the Natives happy. ( I guess he wasn’t worried about the colonists’ happiness. • The debt problem would be solved with another solution that will anger the colonists…. rampant taxing to dig out of the debt hole England was in. • The anger builds and builds…leads to rebellion. American Revolution style.
Consequences
Consequences
- Slides: 16