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Trading Furs
In the 1740s both England and France traded for furs with the Native Americans in the Ohio River Valley. -
Tensions mount
Rivalries and battles in Europe spill over into the Colonies -
French Fort Duquense
The French and the British defended the Ohio River Valley by building forts such as the French Fort Duquense (now called Pittsburgh) -
Major George Washington
Major George Washington delivered a message to a French Captain demanding that French troops leave the territory in question. The demand was rejected by the French. -
Albany Plan of Union - by Benjamin Franklin
Brought representatives from England, American Colonies, and Indians together to align against the French. Indians claimed neutrality. Plan was rejected. -
First Battle of the War
George Washington and a small force of Virginia militiamen marched to the Ohio River Valley to drive the French out by capturing Fort Duquesne. -
Period: to
Early Years of the War
For the first 3 years of the war (1754-1757), the outnumbered French dominated the battlefield, defeating the English in battles at…
Fort Oswego
Fort Ticonderoga
Fort William Henry (notorious battle which ended in a massacre of British soldiers by Indians allied with the French.) -
Fort Necessity
A combined force of French soldiers and their Native American allies overwhelmed Fort Necessity. The French permitted Washington and his men to return to Virginia safely, but made them promise they would not build another fort west of the Appalachian Mountains for at least a year -
England Declares War
It took England 2 years after the battle at Fort Necessity to declare war. -
British turn the Tide
England began to make peace with important Indian allies.
Under the direction of Lord William Pitt began adapting their war strategies to fit the territory and landscape of the American frontier.
The French were abandoned by many of their Indian allies and exhausted by years of battle, outnumbered and outgunned by the British -
Period: to
French Losing Ground
The French collapsed in 1758-59, with a massive British victory at Quebec led by General James Wolfe in September 1759. -
War all but over
BySeptember 1760, the British controlled French possessions; the war was effectively over. -
Treaty of Paris
1763 Treaty of Paris, which also ended the European “Seven Years War”
France was forced to surrender all American possessions to the British.
The British continued to fight with the Indians over the issue of land claims. "Pontiac's War" flared up shortly after the Treaty of Paris was signed -
Lasting Effects
The war effectively ended French influence in North America.
England gained massive amounts of land and vastly strengthened its hold on the continent.
The effects of the French and Indian War played a major role in the worsening relationship between England and its colonies that eventually led into the Revolutionary War.
