French and Indian War
Storyboard Text
- Ohio River Valley
- We claim this river!
- No, we claim this river! We were here first!
- The Albany Plan of Union
- Beginning of the War
- In the 1740's, the British and French both became interested in the Ohio River Valley. British Settlers began moving west towards the Ohio River Valley but France had already claimed that area. The French were building a fort called Fort Duquesne. In command of the English was 22-year-old Colonel George Washington, he built Fort Necessity about 40 miles away to force the French out. But Washington was forced out of the Ohio River Valley by the French.
- The French and Indian War
- The British wanted to negotiate an alliance with the Iroquois. The Iroquois controlled western New York—land the French passed through to reach the Ohio River. They held a conference in Albany, New York, but the Iroquois refused an alliance with the British but did offer some support. The conference also issued the Albany Plan of Union, a proposal developed by a committee led by Benjamin Franklin.The Plan of Union proposed that the colonies form a federal government.
- The British Win
- The British government wanted to remove the French and since the colonies would not pay for its own defense Britain would send troops and give the colonies money. In April 1757, British General Edward Braddock arrived in Virginia as commander of the British forces in North America. British troops marched back out to Fort Duquesne but were attacked by the French and their Indigenous peoples allies.
- The Treaty of Paris 1763
- Braddock was killed but Washington was able to hold the British forces together during their retreat. The successful ambush emboldened the Delaware people who began attacking British settlers in western Pennsylvania. For the next two years, the French and Indian War raged along the frontier. The war went global when Britain officially declared war on France. The French and Indian War or the Seven Years’ War was the first world war.
- The tide began to shift against the French after William Pitt became secretary of state and leader of the British House of Commons in 1757. Pitt poured money, supplies, and reinforcements into the British colonies. In 1758, he sent several generals to America. The British were able to take the French colony of Quebec and continued to defeat the French forces in North America.
- The French and Indian War came to an official end with the Treaty of Paris, signed in February 1763. The British Navy now ruled the seas, and the British Army commanded Europe and North America. Britain’s military strength now outranked France. The treaty gave Britain vast new lands: all of the former French territory in North America east of the Mississippi River. The French had been driven from the continent of North America.
Over 30 Million Storyboards Created