Indian Wars/French and Indian War

The Native Indian tribes that inhabited the New World had lived there for thousands of years.  When the Europeans began to try to take control of the land and convert the natives to Christianity, tensions arose, and there were many small and large battles.

The settlers from the various countries held vastly different ideas of land ownership that the natives didn’t share, and they constantly cheated the natives in an attempt to get wealth and power.

One of the largest of the Indian wars was between 1754 and 1763 and was the French and Indian War. This is considered to be part of the Seven Years War, which was fought in various parts of the world.

The French and Indian War is the battles that happened in North America. The odd part about this War is that it was between the English and the French, with Native Indian tribes fighting on both sides.

• The Native tribes that were aligned with the French included Lenape, Ojibwa, Shawnee, Algonquin, and Ottawa.  The Native tribes that were aligned with the British included Catawba, Iroquois, and for a time, the Cherokee. A majority of the fighting occurred in what is now called Upstate New York.

• The British and the French each had different reasons for wanting the land. The French knew that the area of New France in Canada needed the land where the Mississippi River ran all the way to Louisiana for extensive trade. The British wanted to settle the Ohio Valley as part of their expansion plans.

• The French Indian War was mainly fought in the northeast portion of the country near the borders between the French Colonies of New France and the British colonies.  The area known as New France was mainly in what is now Canada. The conflict was due to the need to move westward, and when the French encroached on Ohio and constructed a fort, it resulted in the first battle in 1754.

• Between 1755 and 1760, there were a variety of battles involving British and French troops and the Native tribes that fought by their sides.

• During this time, the famed American explorer and outdoorsman, Daniel Boone, drove a supply wagon during the battles, and George Washington served in the role of colonel in the provincial militia.

• The Treaty of Paris that was signed in 1763, officially ended the French and Indian War. The treaty required that France give up all of the North American territories. The British got all of the land that was east of the Mississippi River, and the Spanish got all of the land that was west of the Mississippi River.

• The French and Indian War was incredibly expensive for all countries that were involved. It was especially costly for the British, and they intended to try to get reimbursed for the expenses through the colonies.  It wasn’t enough for the British to have a profitable trade. They wanted a quicker way to get their money back. The British government levied high taxes on the colonies, which were the cause of the revolt against the Crown and prompted the American Revolution.

• More people died in the French and Indian War than died during the battles of the American Revolution.

Q&A:

What War was the French and Indian War a part of?
The Seven Years War

Where did most of the fighting of the French and Indian War occur?
Upstate New York

What was the name of the treaty that ended the French and Indian War?
The Treaty of Paris

Why are Indians included in this War?
Each side had Indian tribes that aligned with them to fight

What was the reason that the French were fighting in the War?
To get the lands along the Mississippi River for trade

Why did the British fight the French and Indian War?
To gain the land in the Ohio Valley