The French established forts throughout the region - Detroit, St. Louis, Mobile, & New Orleans - Fur and grain were transported south and into the Gulf of Mexico

Victory over France leads to Colonial Problems

French Conflict with the English- Between 1689 and 1748 there were several wars between British colonists and the French trappers & their Indian allies: - King William’s War (1689-1697) (League of Augsburg) - Queen Anne’s War (1702-1713) (Spanish Succession) - War of Jenkins’s Ear (1739) (Austrian Succession) - King George’s War (1744-1748) (ditto) - New England colonists captured the French fortress at Louisbourg (1745) in Canada. - The English gave back the fort, angering New England colonists

The French & Indian War (1754-1763)- The final conflict for control of North America began when the two empires tried to expand into the Ohio River Valley and the fighting spread all along the frontier.- In 1754 Virginia militia leader George Washington began the conflict in western Pennsylvania at the British Fort Necessity - Washington was eventually forced to surrender to the French, but he became a hero in the colonies.

Colonial UnityAlbany Conference (1754) - British held a meeting to secure Iroquois alliance against the French and Huron - Albany Plan of Union – Ben Franklin - Franklin proposed that the colonies cooperate militarily in their defense against attacks and that Britain form a colonies-wide government - Plan may have been influenced by the Iroquois Confederacy - The plan was not accepted

- The French and their Indian allies, including the Huron & Ottawa, went to war against the British & their Indian allies, the Iroquois, for control of the American continent.- The War expanded into a world war between the European powers – the Seven Years’ War. (1756-1763)

Poor British Leadership- In the first years of fighting, the British Army, made up of largely colonial soldiers, suffered several defeats, many because of poor leadership.- British General Edward Braddock’s army of mostly colonials was nearly destroyed in a disastrous attempt to take Fort Duquesne in 1755 (in western PA). - Most of his troops were killed or wounded (including Braddock). - Colonel George Washington organized the successful retreat, increasing his reputation as a military hero in Virginia.

Massacre at Fort William Henry in 1757 (in northern New York)- The British commander in America, Lord Loudon, was in Canada attacking Louisbourg. -The French assaulted the important fort with cannons until the British surrendered. - The Last of the Mohicans

Mr. Pitt- In 1757 British Prime Minister William Pitt reorganized the war effort built a new army of 50,000 well-equipped soldiers (which included 20,000 colonists) by borrowing money to finance the war.- Following this change, the British army consistently defeated the French.

The British successfully defeated the French Army at the ‘Battle of the Plains of Abraham’ in September of 1759 in Canada.

It was the decisive battle of the War, ensuring a British victory.

Both commanding generals France’s Montcalm and Britain’s James Wolfe were killed.

In September 1760, after British General Jeffrey Amherst led the capture of Montreal, all the French forces in Canada are defeated.

- The French & Indian War was officially ended with the Treaty of Paris (1763).

- The British took control of all of North America east of the Mississippi River and Canada

- Spanish control of all land west of the Mississippi was recognized.

The Aftermath of the WarDespite the victory, American colonial leaders and soldiers were also insulted by their treatment at the hands of the arrogant British military.

Pontiac’s Rebellion 1763-64_ American Indians feared the loss of their lands to British settlers when they learned of the Treaty of Paris.- The Ottawa, led by Pontiac, tried to drive the British from the Ohio River Valley by attacking forts throughout the region. - The British crushed the Ottawa uprising, but did not want a continuing conflict.(During this time the British General Jeffrey Amherst wrote about using blankets infected with smallpox as a weapon against the American Indians)

Britain’s Postwar Actions Angered the Colonists

(1) The British posted 10,000 troops in forts along the frontier - to protect against further American Indian attacks, - this angered American colonists, who saw the troops as a threat to their liberties.

(2) - In 1763 the British established the Proclamation Line, which prohibited colonists from crossing the Appalachian Mountains- Intended to prevent conflict with the American Indians. - This angered colonists, who wanted to expand onto the land recently gained from France- Colonists largely ignored the Proclamation Line, as they did many British regulations, and moved west anyway.- This increased colonial disregard for the laws of the British Empire.

(3) - In 1763 new British Prime Minister George Grenville tried to increase British revenues so they could pay off war debt and pay for the troops on the frontier.

He began strongly enforcing customs duties (import & export taxes) and arresting smugglers, who were many of Boston’s leading businessmen.

These actions pushed the colonist to further resist British authority.