Background and Causes
It is notable that these conflicts between colonial powers in North America did not start with the French and Indian War but tensions had been building through competing ambitions and alliances before than already. Here are some things you need to know about its history:
1. Colonial Rivalries
No one should be surprised that what fueled this war was jealousy between two powers about who could colonize better, France and Britain. Both states wanted more land in North America to take advantage of its lucrative fur trade, use it as a base for their troops or boast of having something strategic in case of any future conflict . The Ohio River Valley became coveted by both because it had potential for trade route as well as fertile soil.
2. Alliances of Native Americans
The French and British befriended many non-white groups which was great because these groups helped them fight each other. Some Native Americans joined forces with the French due to their high purchase of furs. However, on other occasions they would join hands with the British when they saw the latter trying to expand westwards so that they can dominate more areas that belonged to them for long time.
3. European Power Struggle
It wasn’t only in America that Britain and France were at loggerheads since they had fights all over Europe too! “The War of the Austrian Succession”, one of theirs ended just eight years before this one began meaning tension was still very high between these two nations.
4. Selling Posts and Strongholds
Both colonizers built forts around North America; there were even plenty that existed already. When you get several forts in an area where something is already going on, things are sure to get much worse way faster than you’d expect! So the French built a fort called Fort Duquesne near Pittsburgh, now while the British took Nova Scotia.
5. No Alliances due to Unfruitful Conversation
During conversations people can really mess up. For example, Great Britain’s colonies tried to form an alliance at Albany Congress in 1754 but couldn’t make friendly relationships or write laws with Iroquois tribes and nobody else either. This did not worked well for them later on.
6. Little Fires That Start Big Ones
Some saying never change regardless of the year like “look before you leap”, “don’t play with fire”, or “never throw a young George Washington near Fort Duquesne.” It was just a matter of time after this little fight for things to go absolutely bonkers out there on those frontiers and all around the rest of the globe.
The French and Indian War – Seven Years’ War in North America
The French and Indian War began in the year 1754 and ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1763. The war provided the British with enormous gains of territories in North America, but there was increasing colonial discontent due to the subsequent frontier policy and also war indemnity, which led to the American Revolution.
In this article, we will look into the French and Indian War – Seven Years’ War in North America. Let’s start.