The French and Indian War or The Seven years War By the mid 1700’s the French and the English both held claims to the fertile land west of the Appalachian Mountains: the Ohio River Valley. The French needed this land for their profitable fur trading businesses as well as to connect their land holdings in Canada to their land in Mississippi such as the bustling city of New Orleans. The British considered the Ohio Valley their natural avenue of westward expansion. It was just a matter of time before these two great nations came into conflict over this area. In 1753, the English owned Virginia Company boldly claimed 500,000 acres of land in the Ohio Valley as their own. In response the French built Fort Duquesne (Dukane) in western Pennsylvania …show more content…
For the first few years England and the colonies suffered defeat after defeat at the hands of the French and the Indians. The Indians knew how to use the wilderness of the American landscape to their deadly advantage. But, over the years, the number and quality of the British and colonial militia continued to improve. In addition, a group of colonial leaders gathered in NY to try to organize the war effort on a colony wide level. This “Albany Plan of Union” was a failure but marked the first time the colonies worked together as a unified body. After a few decisive victories (Quebec, 1757 and Montreal, 1763) the war turned in favor of the British and victory was all but certain. In 1763 the French and her allies formally surrendered to …show more content…
The Peace Settlement of 1763 kicked France off the North American continent and gave Canada and Florida to England, and Mississippi to Spain. Now that the colonists had no fear of a nearby enemy (France) they felt confident to move west at a breakneck pace. Mother England soon checked this freedom in order to appease the Indians and return the colonies to a state of peace and prosperity. To assert their control over the colonists they passed the Proclamation of 1763. This proclamation stated that no colonists may cross the Appalachian Mountains. England also decided that because this war directly helped the colonies then the colonies should help pay for it. England soon followed with a series of taxes and trade regulations. These actions angered the colonists and lead them to greater defiance (they moved west anyways) and opened the door of even harsher treatment of the