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Etymology
The French and Indian War is generally the name given to the colonial conflict between England and France from 1754 to 1763 (though the conflict was started 70 years earlier)
Combatants
France
French Colonies
First Nations allies:Algonquin Lenape Wyandot Ojibwa Ottawa Shawnee
Great Britain
American Colonies
Iroquois Confederacy
Ongoing Conflict
Ongoing Conflict
While some conflicts involved Spanish and Dutch forces, all pitted Great Britain, its colonies and Indian allies on one side and France, its colonies and Indian allies on the other. As such, the American conflicts were also part of the persistent Anglo-French Second Hundred Years' War, which was fought intermittently between 1688 and 1815. The expanding French and British colonies were contending for control of the western, or interior, territories.
Years of War North American War European War Treaty
1689 – 1697King William's War1st Intercolonial War (in Quebec)
War of the Grand AllianceWar of the League of Augsburg
Treaty of Ryswick
1702 – 1713Queen Anne's War2nd Intercolonial War
War of the Spanish Succession Treaty of Utrecht (1713)
1744 – 1748King George's War3rd Intercolonial War
War of Jenkins' EarWar of the Austrian Succession
Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748)
1754 – 1763The French and Indian War4th Intercolonial War
Seven Years' War Treaty of Paris (1763)
Ongoing Conflict
The first three of the French and Indian Wars follow the same basic pattern. That is they all start in Europe and then move to America. Once the fighting begins in America it is mostly fought by militia men. In all three wars the English are victorious. The gains or assests made by the English during the wars in America are always returned to the French at the end of the war.
Causes of Conflict
• Using trading posts and forts, both the British and the French claimed the vast territory between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River, from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, known as the Ohio Country.
• Both European countries ignored Native American claims to the land in order to pursue their beaver pelt economies.
• The British colonists feared papal influence in North America. The predominantly Protestant British were threatened by an encroaching Roman Catholic French colony in New France.
• The French feared the anti-Catholicism prevalent among English holdings. In this period, Catholicism was still suffering persecution under English law.
• Newfoundland's Grand Banks were fertile fishing grounds and coveted by both sides. The conclusion of this war would see France keeping only the islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, allowing them access to the Grand Banks to this day.
Fort Necessity
The first major conflict took place in 1754, when 21-year-old George Washington, a major in the colonial militia, led the Virginia militia to capture Ft. Duquesne.
During the battle, a French officer was killed, angering France. Washington was forced to fall back 6 miles southeast. There he established Ft. Necessity. The site was poorly chosen. It was in a depression and close to the treeline.
Soon after, Ft. Necessity was attacked by a much larger French force. After nine hours, the militiamen were forced to abandon Ft. Necessity. The French burned the fort and returned to Ft. Duquesne. This was the only incident in Washington’s career in which he surrendered.
Fort Duquesne
In 1755, the British mounted an assault on Ft. Duquesne, led by General Edward Braddock, with Major Washington.
Ft. Duquesne was a small wooden fort on the headwaters of the Ohio River.
Braddock employed European techniques (linear marching formations) against the French (using guerilla warfare).
The French easily routed the British. Braddock was killed and Washington led the retreat.
Fort Duquesne
The British attempted another assault in 1758 with more men. Again they were annihilated. (242 British and Scottish casualties / 16 French casualties)
The French realized that the British would bring even more soldiers. They abandoned the fort and burned it.
When the British arrived upon the smoldering ashes of Ft. Duquesne, they found the heads of Scottish soldiers impaled on stakes.
The British built a much larger fort on the site. They called it Fort Pitt (after the new Prime Minister William Pitt).
Quebec (Plains of Abraham)
In 1759, the British began a 3-month siege to Quebec City. Capturing the city would give control of the largest French city and the St. Lawrence River.
The battle pitted British general James Wolfe and French general Marquis de Montcalm.
Many of Wolfe’s men were ill. Wolfe wrote “The Marquis of Montcalm is at the head of a great number of bad soldiers, and I am at the head of a small number of good ones that wish for nothing so much as to fight him.”
Quebec (Plains of Abraham)
Due to Quebec’s defensible position, Wolfe chose to land his British troops about 1 mile upstream from Quebec.
Under the cover of night, Wolfe sailed past Quebec, disembarked, scaled the bluffs, and positioned 5000 troops on the Plains of Abraham.
As the French were scrambling to organize the battle, the British attacked with the “most perfect volley ever fired on a battlefield.”
Quebec (Plains of Abraham)
As the French retreated, James Wolfe was struck by two shots (one in the stomach, one in the chest) mortally wounding him. Upon seeing the retreat, he stated “Now, God be praised, I will die in peace.”
Without their leader, a disorganized British army chased the French across the St. Charles River.
During the retreat, Montcalm, still mounted, was struck in the abdomen by either repeated musket fire or canister shot. He died the next morning.
Quebec (Plains of Abraham)
Aftermath:Casualties:
- 644 French- 658 British
After the battle, the French army abandoned Quebec. A few days later they signed the Articles of Capitulation of Quebec.
Soon after, Montreal was captured by the British.
Treaty of Paris, 1763
France gave up all lands in New France east of the Mississippi River.
Spain gave Florida to Britain.
Florida gave the Louisiana Territory to Spain
Impact on Revolution
Ironically, the overwhelming victory of the British played a role in eventual loss of their American colonies.
How did the French/Indian War lead to the American Revolution?
1. Without the threat of French invasion, the American colonies saw little need for British military protection and resented British limits on the colonization of the new French territories as stated in the Proclamation of 1763.
2. The British needed to repay their war debts. As a result, they increased taxes on the colonies.
