The War Begins

Chapter 5 Section 3 Pt I

Trouble in the Ohio Valley

• Just beyond the App. Mtns, the Ohio Valley was attracting English fur traders & land companies– The French feared losing control of the rivers that

linked their settlements in Canada & Louisiana• This set the stage for a 9-year-long war (1754-1763)

• In 1753, the French sent troops into the region– This upset the VA colony, b/c they claimed the land

• VA’s governor responded by sending militia to tell the French to leave– The VA militia was led by 21-year-old George Washington

WAR!

• GW was charged w/ building a fort on the Ohio River to protect VA’s interests– When he reached the site, though, a French fort

(Ft. Duquesne) was already built there• GW hastily built a small fort nearby, called Ft. Necessity,

in order to launch a surprise attack on the French– The attack failed, and GW’s small force was overrun @ Ft.

Necessity» GW was forced to retreat to VA, but he had effectively

started the French & Indian War

The Albany Plan of Union

• Ben Franklin came up with a plan for the colonial war effort– He suggested that the colonies band together in order to

strengthen their defense– BF’s Albany Plan of Union became the first formal

proposal to unite the colonies under one govt.• Each colony would send reps. to a “Grand Council” which would:

1. Collect taxes2. Raise & outfit armies3. Make treaties

• Unfortunately, the colonial legislatures rejected the plan b/c they did not want to give up control of their own affairs

Effects of the French & Indian War

Ch 5 Sec 3 Pt II

Braddock’s Defeat & A New Strategy

• The commanding British General during the early days of the war was Edward Braddock– His tenure was a disaster and was punctuated by his death

at Ft. Duquesne• The British suffered a string of defeats over the next

two years– It was not until 1757, w/ the election of new Prime Minister

William Pitt, that the British fortunes changed• Pitt was determined to win the war and in turn:

1. Sent Britain’s best Generals to America2. Borrowed $ to pay more colonial troops

The War Ends

• By 1759, Pitt’s strategy caused the French to be beaten back to New France– The decisive Battle of Quebec, a British victory, effectively ended the

war• Though both sides continued to battle in other parts of the

world, the F& I War officially ended w/ the signing of the Treaty of Paris. The terms were:1. Britain gained Canada and all French lands east of the Miss. River

(except New Orleans)2. France kept 2 islands in the Gulf of St. Lawrence & its colonies in the

W. Indies3. Britain gained FL from Spain4. Spain received New Orleans & all French land west of the Miss. River

Pontiac’s Rebellion

• Natives in the Ohio Valley responded to new British occupation by organizing and attacking British settlers and forts – One of the chief organizers was an Ottawa leader named

Pontiac• By the summer of 1763, Native forces had destroyed

all but 3 British forts west of the Appalachians– The remaining forts were under siege

• The British employed a brutal tactic to break the siege at Ft. Pitt– Officers invited the Natives in for talks, offering blankets as a sign of peace– The natives accepted the blankets, not knowing that they were infected

w/ smallpox– This started a deadly outbreak that effectively ended the rebellion

Effects of the F&I War

• The British now controlled a huge empire– The French had been effectively removed from N. America– The Spanish “controlled” vast lands, but were only a shell of their

former power• In order to aid in managing the empire, Parliament passed

the Proclamation of 1763– This law forbade British settlers to settle west of the Appalachians– This was meant to “protect” settlers and Natives from conflict

• Colonists were furious, b/c they felt they had won the right to settle in the Ohio Valley

• The British, in turn, grew angry w/ the ever increasing dissent they felt the colonials displayed for British authority