Download Colonial Rivalry: The French and Indian War

Colonial
Rivalry:
The French and Indian War
Colonial Rivalry
 By the mid-1700s,
England, France,
Spain & the
Netherlands were
locked in a struggle
for EMPIRE—
 Competing to conquer
and maintain the
largest amount of
foreign territory.
 In North America, the
two biggest rivals
were Britain and
France…
 And each wanted to
expel the other from
the Continent.
An IMPERIAL power is one
that...
A.) uses its military to maintain world peace.
B.) works with other nations in pursuit of
common economic goals.
C.) expands by conquering new territory.
D.) tends to adopt "isolationist" policies.
The French in North America
 The French were primarily
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active in ONE activity:
Trading for, trapping and selling
FUR.
French settlements were in
INTERIOR of North America…
And were mostly limited to
solitary forts, deep in the
wilderness.
The French footprint was
SMALL…
And they generally got along
well with the Indians…
Who viewed French forts as
convenient TRADING POSTS.
The British in North America
 The British economy was based
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on TWO THINGS:
COMMERCE, and…
AGRICULTURE.
British settlements were on the
COAST…
And took the form of villages,
towns and large CITIES.
In order to farm, the British
cleared LARGE AREAS of land…
And were continually in
CONFLICT with the Indians…
With whom they had a
relationship of MUTUAL
HATRED.
What was the PRIMARY goal
of French activity in North
America?
A.) to challenge the British for control of
Canada.
B.) to take part in the fur trade.
C.) to explore undiscovered territory.
D.) to seek religious freedom.
Which colonial power most
depended upon peaceful
relations with the Native
Americans?
A.) the French.
B.) the British.
War Breaks Out
 In 1754, the French
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constructed a fort in
Western Pennsylvania…
Territory that had already
been CLAIMED by the
British.
George Washington was
selected to lead an attack of
the Fort…
The attack FAILED (which
would set a pattern for most
of his military career).
But it led to the OUTBREAK
of the French and Indian
War.
Who Fought in the French and Indian War?
VS.
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*The French and Indian War is called the Seven Years’ War in Europe.
The French and Indian War...
A.) was a struggle between the French and the
Indians for control over the Ohio River Valley.
B.) united the empires of Britain and France
against Indian aggression.
C.) was primarily a war over the limits of
religious freedom in the colonies.
D.) was a struggle between the British Empire
and Imperial France for control of North
America.
Early British Defeats
 The French and
the Indians won
almost every major
battle during the
first half of the
war—
 One principal
reason was that
the British
continued to fight
in formation—
 And French/Indian
forces used the far
more effective
tactics of guerilla
warfare.
The British Turn the Tide
 The British were finally able to
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use their Navy to cut off French
supply ships from accessing
North America—
Leading to French forces running
out of food and ammunition—
And to many of their Indian allies
abandoning the war.
When the British captured
Quebec, Montreal and Detroit in
the winter of 1759-60…
The war ended in North
America—
But dragged on in Europe for
another three years—
Before the French surrendered in
1763.
The Treaty of Paris, 1763
 France lost
CANADA…
 And ALL
territories in
North America.
 The British traded
CUBA to SPAIN for
FLORIDA…
 SPAIN received all
territory WEST of
the Mississippi.
The Results of the War
 During the war, British Redcoats
had treated their American
counterparts disrespectfully—
 Believing them to crude,
uneducated commoners…
 And since the war had been
expensive, the British government
began to consider new TAXES on
the American colonists.
 Americans considered the
Redcoats’ tactics to be simply
unintelligent—
 And also disliked their attitude of
superiority.
 This war, therefore, was the
beginning of the American/British
divorce.
From an American perspective, the French
and Indian war is important because...
A.) it led to British control of both Cuba and
Louisiana.
B.) highlighted the cultural differences
between American colonials and their British
rulers.
C.) ensured that the colonial territories
would secure total religious freedom.
D.) attracted worldwide attention to British
mistreatment of the Native Americans.