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French and Indian War Begins
The French and Indian War began after the battles at Fort Necessity, although niether side realized it. It began when George Washington had established an outpost called Fort Necessity about 40 miles from Fort Duquesne. Then Washington's mitlitia attacked a detachment of French soldiers, who later counterattacked. The French forced Washington to surrender in the following battle. -
William Pitt comes to power
Britain's King George II selected William Pitt as one of the new leaders to run his government after continuous French victories over Britain. Under Pitt, the British army finally began to win battles. This prompted the powerful Iroquois to support them, which gave Britain some Native allies to balance those of France. -
Battle of the Plains of Abraham
This battle marked a turning point in the French and Indian War. On the Plains of Abraham, just outside Quebec, British troops caught the French by surprise. The British, led by General James Wolfe, won a short but deadly battle against the French and their commander, Marquis de Montcalm. The British triumph at Quebec led them to victory in the war. -
Treaty of Paris ends French and Indian War
The French and Indian War officially came to and end after the signing of the Treaty of Paris. This gave Britain all of North America east of the Mississippi River. Spain gained the French lands west of the Mississippi. France only kept control of a few small islands near Newfoundland and the West Indies. The treaty marked the beginning of an extensive period of British dominance outside Europe. -
George Grenville becomes prime minister
After the French and Indian War, Britain was in a financial crisis. Hoping to lower the debt, King George III chose George Grenville, a financial expert, to serve as prime minister.Grenville suspected that the colonists were smuggling goods in the country so he prompted Parliament to anact a law known as the Sugar Act. -
Proclamation of 1763
The British government issued the Proclamation of 1763 to avoid further conflicts with Native Americans, after they had defeated the Native Americans led by Pontiac. This banned all settlements west of the Appalachians. It established a Proclamtaion Line, which the colonists could not pass. This created tension between the colonists and Britain because the colonists believed that the British government did not care about their needs. -
Parliament enacts the Sugar Act
Prime minister, George Grenville began to suspect that the colonists were smuggling goods into the country so he prompted Parliament to enact this law. The Sugar Act halved the tax on foreign-made molasses, placed duties on certain imports, and strengthened the enforcement allowing prosecuters to try smuggling cases in a vice-admiralty court opposed to the more sympathetic colonial court.
