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New France
In 1682, Robert Cavlier claimed the entire Mississippi Valley for France. This area became known as New France which was the French colony in North America. By 1754, the population was only about 70,000. New France differed from British colonies. Typcial people were fur traders and Catholic priests who wanted to convert Native Americans.The French colonists also had better relations with the Natives unline the British. -
George Washigton
In 1754, the French created Fort Duquesne at the point where the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers join to form the Ohio. To evict the French, the Virginia governor sent militia to the area. They were led by a 22-year-old officer named George Washington. They established an outpost called For Necessity about 40 miles from Fort Duquesne. In May, the militia attacked a detachment of Frech soliders. The French quickly counterattacked and the battle that led in July forced Washington to surrender. -
William Pitt
When Britian' King George II became angered by the Frnch victories, he selected new leaders to run his gvernment in 1757.William Pitt was among the men. He was an energetic, self-confident politician. Under the rule of Pitt, the British army finally began winninh battles which helped to get the Iroquois Indiands to support them, Th British now had Native American allies to balance those of France. -
The War takes a Dramatic Turn
On the Plains of Abraham just outside Quebec, under the cover of the night, British troops under General James Wlfe scaled the cliffs that protected Quebec. Catching the French and their commander, Marquis de Montcalm, by surprise, they won a short but deadly battle. This British triumph led them to victry in the war. -
Treaty of Paris
The French and Indian War officially ended with this treaty. Great Britian claimed all of North America east of the Mississippi River. Spain gained the French lands west of the Mississippi which included New Orleans. France kept control of only a few small islands near Newfoundland and the West Indies. The Native Americans were the other losers in the war and found it difficult to bargain with the British. -
Proclamation of 1763
To avoid any further conflicts with the Native Americans, te British govrnment put this into affect. The Proclamation banned all settlement west of the Appalachians. This ban estblished a Proclamation Line, which the colonists were not to cross. THe British could not enforce the ban any better than they could enforce the Navigation Acts. -
George Grenville and the Sugar Act
A financial expert who was chosen by King George III to serve as prime minister in 1763. He soon angered merchants because he began to suspect the colonists were smuggling goods into the country. He prompted Parliament to enact the Sugar Act. The Act havled the duty on foreign-made molasses, placed duties on certain imports, and strengthened th enforcement of law allowing prosecutors to try smuggling cases in a vice-admiralty court rather then sympathetic colonial court.
