In the 18th century, the Spanish, French and British governments controlled Northern America. According to the controllers, it was subdivided into sections. Florida, along with the northern and central parts of Northern America, was controlled by Spain. The eastern part was under British control.
All-powerful nations were scrambling for wealth, including money and land, during this period. The war took around a century to subside. Although it was not all that serious, it negatively impacted economic growth.
The main cause of the French and Indian War was to know the most powerful country in the northern part of America. The fighters relied on their colonialists and collaborators to conquer their enemies.
The actual genesis of this conflict was on land. The French were the pioneers who settled to explore the Great Lakes, Ohio, and Mississippi. They usually sent their traders and trappers to these areas because they had created trading centers there. The French owned these territories themselves because they occupied them before any European settlers in the world.
On the contrary, the British territories targeted the same piece of land. The British Empire believed they were the real landowners right from the eastern shore to the west coast, even though the west coast was unknown then. The settlers in the eastern part began to migrate to the west because the eastern part was now full of settlers. By moving to the east, they dismantled the Indians trading in this area. In turn, the Indians worried about losing their land to them. (291)
The Indians could fight back the land they belonged to, but they could not make them because they had internecine differences. These differences arose when the French and British started to fight. The Indians were undecided on who to support. They were forced to divide, some supporting the French and others supporting the British.
The French settlers were living in what was being called at that time New France which is currently part of Canada. There were rules that every settler from the French should be in the Roman Catholic Church. Those from the protestant could not meet this requirement, forcing them to resettle in the British colonies.
The French were known to be fur traders, so they valued fur more than land. In that regard, they did not show any sign of appreciation to the British, having bought fur from the Indians at high prices. The French established a trading fort where Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania currently lie. It was named Fort Duquesne, where the French could trade their fur.
The British raised alarm to the French that the site where the fort had been built belonged to them, they claimed that entire Virginia was theirs. The Governor of Virginia, who was at the throne at this period (1754) decided to sent a colonialist (George Washington- later first president of U.S.) to inform the French to withdraw from the site. The French resisted the order from the British. As a result, one hundred and 150 men were sent to force them out of the place. Frenchmen tried to oppose, but they defeated others being killed. Through this, the French and Indian War began. (282)
George Washington was joined by Gen. Edward Braddock together with heavy troops at the Duquesne. The war was not to the expectation of the British General. He expected the troops to come towards one another as they fired their guns towards each other. The troops chose to employ a war whereby they could hide in the woods and donned clothes so that they could see their enemies approaching and shoot them without them realizing. Even though the British killed several troops from the French and Indians, they were defeated, and as a result, General Braddock was killed.
Most of the war occurred around Lakes George and Champlain in New York, which bordered the Canadian boundary. Lake Champlain covers a wider area of Montreal in Canada and is north of Lake George. The two lakes acted as a strategy for moving troops to fight, as there were few roads then. Those who could not move their troops at the time of need would automatically be defeated. Any troops who win will have the power to control North America.
Bases of the French army were situated in Quebec and Montreal cities, while the British military armies were situated along the river Hudson in New York. Between these two places was a battling region for the two rivals. When the French realized the British had defeated them in December 1755, they constructed a military base on the southern part of Lake Champlain and named it Fort Carillon to consolidate the lake region. The French could have control of the Lake Region and the routes that would lead to Lake George (Cave, 2004). As a result, they would be able to conquer the British with a lot of ease.
On the contrary, the British troops were also forced to build their fort on the far south of Lake George, named Fort William Henry. The French had two walls filled with logs. (337)
The walls were later rebuilt by using stones. The walls would act as a defensive mechanism as dirt was filled in between the two walls.
The France military commander sent Marquis de Montcalm to take care of the troops. As soon as he arrived, he began attacking the British forts in 1757, Fort William Henry included. An agreement was reached that the British Commander would surrender and British troops would fairly be treated immediately after being defeated. This was an order from the French and Indians after they had declared to kill at least 1000 British soldiers together with the settlers.
One year after the signing of the agreement, the British planned a revenge mission against the French and the Indians, thereby destroying Fort Carillon under Commander General Montcalm. The fight seemed unbelievable because small groups of French and Indian troops defeated the British armies. They slowly revenged a year after Commander General Jeffery Amhurst had defeated them. Luck was at this time on their side as they caught a chance to win from the French. In this process, Fort Carillon was given a new name, Fort Ticonderoga, used by the French and Indian military during times of war. This in history was used by Americans when they were fighting for independence.
After the French and Indians were defeated in Quebec, they agreed with the British to sign a treaty in 1763 in Paris to end the war. British granted themselves power to take control of nearly all the lands under the French from the east coast of North America to the Mississippi River. The western side of the Mississippi River belonged to Spain so that the British would be far away from them. Indians nearly scooped everything on the western (311) side (Santella, 2004). Texas and New Mexico were the only remaining pieces of land on the western side controlled by Spain’s colonies.
There were negative outcomes of this French and Indian War. The British parliament came up with the idea that taxes should be increased on the colonies. They knew that they were the final beneficiaries of this increase because they had emerged as heroes in the war, so their allies were a must they would follow the orders. Items that were affected by these increased taxes were legal documents and tea.
Stamps were issued for any legal document and newspapers to affix to them. The idea was seriously resisted in 1765, and a protest was organized.
British, French and Indian troops’ relationships started to deteriorate slowly by slowly in their home countries. After the completion of the war, which was William Pitt’s objective, a British prime minister, North America was now under the control of the British. There are several islands where the French were forced out, especially those in northern America. France also suffered another disaster by losing India to the British.
Before the start of the French and Indian War, there were over 2.5 million people, but after the war, there were only 50,000 people alive. These statistics show that many people lost their lives during the fight. Chief Pontiac had a goal of uniting all the tribes that existed during this time of hardship, as several people had been killed.
After the war, the British expanded their territories, which meant an increase in tax to build and sustain the empire, people suffered directly from this excessive taxation from the empire. In addition, debts borrowed during the war were now (297) being repaid at 20% annually. This was a huge amount to the Englishmen in their homes as they could not afford it. (1539)
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