The
United States after the French and Indian War
The
French and Indian War, also known as the Seven Years
War, began in the Spring on 1754. The dispute arose
over the presence of British and French settlers
in the Ohio River Valley (in and around present
day Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania),
but resulted in battles that were fought far from
there. Both the French and English wanted exclusive
rights to the area because of its economic potential
and plethora of fur-bearing wildlife. Despite attempts
in Europe to solve the territory battle diplomatically,
no compromise could be made. French settlers began
building forts along the Ohio River to protect the
land from the British. Meanwhile, Robert Dinwiddie,
lieutenant governor of Virginia
(British), had begun issuing land-grants in the
region for members of his colony. French and British
military forces were both authorized by their respective
governments to take the necessary measures to remove
the other.
Upon
hearing news of the French forts, Dinwiddie sent
21 year-old George
Washington to deliver a British ultimatum to
French colonists. The French refused to leave and
built a fort at the source of the Ohio River which
they named Fort Duquesne. The following May, Washington,
now promoted to lieutenant colonel, returned to
the area with 160 armed Virginians. Washington then
ambushed a French reconnaissance party at what came
to be known as The Battle of Jumonville Glen. In
preparation for a French counterattack, Washington
ordered the construction of a makeshift stockade
which he named Fort Necessity, south of present
day Pittsburgh. Less than a month later, the French
ambushed the fort, which resulted in Washington's
surrender, and the capture of Fort Necessity. The
French promptly burned the fort to the ground and
gained control of the region.
For
two years, the French controlled the region. When
British Commander Edward Braddock and forces attacked
Fort Duquesne in 1755, his army was routed and he
was killed. While the French successfully defended
their interests in the Ohio Valley, they were losing
the battles elsewhere in North America especially
in points along the shores of Lake Ontario.
In
1756, British Prime Minister William Pitt devised
a comprehensive military plan to defeat the French,
not only in the Ohio River Valley and North America,
but in other regions of contention such as India,
Africa, and the oceans. Pitt committed large numbers
of troops to North America who had permission to
garner supplies at will from civilians. Citizens
were also forced to serve in the military. While
his tactics were successful in driving back the
French, he was forced to relent when a 1757 uprising
concerning his laws nearly tore New York City apart.
Nevertheless, the British had the upper hand in
North America. In 1758, they captured Lake Ontario
and Louisbourg, Nova Scotia. The capture of Fort
Frontenac on Lake Ontario effectively severed communications
between the French headquarters in Montreal and
their forces in the Ohio Valley. Louisbourg gave
the British control of the Bay of St. Lawrence.
That same year, British forces teamed up with local
Indians to take Fort Duquesne from the French. It
was renamed Fort Pitt.
The
turning point in the war occurred on September 13,
1759, when British General James Wolfe defeated
French forces at Quebec in a siege that lasted almost
two months. Montreal and Detroit, the other two
French strongholds would fall soon after. In 1760,
the battered French Army surrendered at Montreal.
The entire nation of Canada was relinquished to
the British. As part of the 1763 Treaty of Paris,
The French lost not only Canada but also all lands
in America east of the Mississippi River.
