The French & Indian War

1754-1763

Bell Ringer

List the 3 groups that fought the French & Indian War.

Bell Ringer

List the 3 groups that fought the French & Indian War. The French The British The Indigenous Americans (Indians)

Introduction

The treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, which ended King George’s War in 1748, brought no more than momentary peace to the American frontier. On March 27, 1749, King George II granted huge wilderness tracts to a group of entrepreneurs called the Ohio Company, stipulating that within 7 years, the company must construct a settlement of 100 families and build a fort for their protection. This rekindled the hostility of the French and their Indian allies who feared English invasion. Their fears were well grounded…

North America - 1750

The French

MO: Trade is Everything! Settlements

Canada Louisiana Great Lakes Region

Dominated Ohio River Valley (ORV) through Exploration Trade Strategic alliances w/ Indians

**ORV was PIVOTAL to French trade

The British

MO: Land is Opportunity! Settlements along Eastern Seaboard Colonists in VA & PA – looking to expand

westward into ORV

Indigenous Americans

MO: Protect our Lifestyle! Allied with both French & British (but

mostly French) At time of war, 3,000-4,000 Indigenous

Americans lived in the ORV Fought for own interests & to control

ORV

French Response

In response to influx of British in ORV, the French Marked their territory

(inscribed lead plates) Attacked Shawnees (traded w/

British) Marquis Duquesne built a

series of forts through ORV (spanned from New Orleans to Montreal) Marquis Duquesne

British Response

Reacting to the French, the British: Negotiated a treaty between VA & the Ohio

Co. AND the Six Iroquois Nations, Delawares, Shawnees, and Wyandots Treaty = secured deeds to vast ORV lands for

British In response to Duquesne’s forts, Lord

Halifax in England pushed British ever closer to a declaration of war Argued that by trading in the ORV, the French

had invaded VA

On the Brink of War

1753-54 French troops from Canada marched

south to seize and fortify the Ohio Valley. French attacked British fort at the forks

of the Ohio River British surrendered to French…French

dubbed fort “Fort Duquesne”

War Begins

Meanwhile…Governor Dinwiddie (Br.) sent Major George Washington (+150 men) to warn the French to leave the region

Not realizing Dinwiddie’s fort had fallen, GW stumbled across 33-man French reconnaissance party

10 Frenchmen – 1 of which was an ambassador – were killed

First “real” battle of F-I War

Calling all Warriors

Anticipating retaliation, GW called for Indian reinforcements…

Too late to retreat Fort Necessity (Great Meadows, PA) July 4, 1754

900 French soldiers & Indian allies attacked GW surrendered after losing half of his men GW & all but 2 men were permitted to leave

Significance – English “evicted” from ORV…English met in Albany to produce plan for colonial unity

Washington’s “Bad”

Only 22, GW signed the treaty of surrender, which was written in French, not fully understanding the terms

In doing so, he inadvertently admitted to the “assassination of” Ensign Joseph Coulon de Villiers de Jumonville (ambassador)

Embarrassed himself & the Crown Reality – Half-King (an Iroquois with an

agenda) killed the ambassador to avenge his people

Video Clip

The Last of the Mohicans 1757: The third year of the war for the

possession of the continent, three men – the last of a vanishing people – are on the frontier, west of the Hudson River (NY).

The three men are about to visit the Cameron homestead, where they will discuss the approaching war, and whether or not colonists and Indians should become involved on behalf of the British…

Activity

You will be divided into four groups: French, British, American (colonists) or Indigenous American

Using the website provided, your group will explore various aspects of the French & Indian War from the Point of View (POV) of your group

Each group will then participate in a debate about the French & Indian War from the POV of your assigned group

Each student MUST participate in both research and debate to receive full credit

Don’t Forget…

Friday is your first exam: 30 MC Timed Chapters 1-6

Interactive notebooks (Chapters 1-6) are due at the beginning of class