The document discusses the origins and key events of the French and Indian War between the French and English in North America from the 1750s to the 1760s. It began as tensions rose between the French and English over territorial expansion in the Ohio Valley. One of the early battles was led by a young George Washington against the French at Fort Necessity. The war then escalated and involved the governments of France and Britain directly. Britain eventually gained control over much of North America after capturing Quebec in 1759. This shifted the balance of power but also increased tensions between the British and American colonists over control of the newly acquired western lands.

1. The French and Indian War By Brad Dougherty & Peter Shim

2. Origins of the War By the 1750’s, English and French settlements were expanding The French had claimed a region of the interior stretching from The Great Lakes south to Louisiana To secure their hold, the French built up communities and fortresses

3. Origins of the War (cont’d) The English were preparing to spread across the Appalachian Mtns. In 1749 a group of Virginia businessmen secured 500,000 acres of Ohio Valley land for settlement The French, in an effort to keep the English from expanding, constructed new fortresses in the Ohio Valley

4. Origins of the War (cont’d) The English interpreted this as a threat to their settlements and began to make military preparations

5. Claims to North America before 1750

6. Beginning of the War In the summer of 1745, the governor of Virginia sent a militia force into the Ohio Valley to challenge French expansion This militia was led by an inexperienced young colonel named George Washington

7. Fort Necessity Washington built a small fort called Fort Necessity After an unsuccessful attack on the French, the French trapped Washington and his troops inside the fort After a third of his troops were killed, Washington was forced to surrender

8. 1754 - 1756 Primarily a North American Conflict Dominated by French Most Indian tribes allied with the French Colonists had to manage the war themselves

9. 1756 – 1758 Governments of France and Britain formally opened hostilities In 1757, the English secretary of state William Pitt started to bring the war effort under control of the British government This caused resentment from the colonists By 1758, the friction between the colonists and the British threatened to bring the war efforts to a halt

10. 1758 - 1760 This caused Pitt to relax some of the policies Resulted in an immediate increase in colonist support Pitt dispatched a large number of additional troops In July 1759, the fortress of Louisbourg was captured by Jeffrey Amherst and James Wolfe In September, Quebec fell to Wolfe and his army A year later, the French formally surrendered

11. Land Reorganization Britain gained control over half the North American continent, including: French Canada All French territorial claims east of the Mississippi River Spanish Florida In return, Britain gave Cuba and the Philippines back to Spain France compensated its Spanish ally for the loss of Florida by giving it title to all of Louisiana west of the Mississippi River

12. Effects on the British Empire Meant that expansion could continue westward into the New World Caused substantial debt Generated much resentment towards the colonists Set plans in motion to have greater control over the colonies

13. Effects on the Indian Tribes All the tribes that had allied with the French were now left alienated, and on bad terms with the British The Iroquois continued to contest British control of the Ohio River Valley

14. Effects on American Colonists Learned to unite Left lots of space to colonize, but the British decided otherwise The British proclaimed that no one could settle west of the Allegheny Mtns. They set up a permanent army, paid for by the colonists’ taxes, to keep them from expanding This infuriated the colonists These policies became a major part in the reasons behind the American Revolution

15. Bibliography http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/E/7yearswar/fiw03.htm http://encarta.msn.com/media_461516744_761575603_-1_1/French_and_Indian_War.html http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761575603/French_and_Indian_War.html http://www.learner.org/biographyofamerica/prog03/maps/page02.html