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French and Indian War The Prelude

Vocabulary: Part II Northwest Territory (Ohio Valley) Ben Franklin Albany Plan of Union militia George Washington Fort Necessity French and Indian War Seven Years War (105)

Colonial Independence Caused Concern: Triangle Trade was an economic issue . Westward Expansion by British colonists was a political problem. England's American empire needed to expand. The colonies pressed westward to Ohio and Kentucky as colonists sought new agricultural lands and trade opportunities. Settlers crossed landmasses into French and Indian territory, where they were not welcome.

Colonists want to move into the Northwest Territory (Ohio Valley) claimed by the French and Indians.

Land claimed by French

The French did not settle the Ohio Valley in the Northwest Territory. They built trading posts & forts, and paid natives for the use of the land. They got along with the natives for these reasons. In addition, French trappers worked with natives. They traded furs, guns, horses, etc. Both profited from this trade relationship and lived in peace.

British colonists from western PA and VA move “west” into French & Indian territory in 1750s.

1749- British build forts in Ohio Valley on French land.

1752- French attack the British forts to drive them out. 1754- Colonel George Washington, age 22, led his Virginia militia… civilian military force, into western PA in May, captured French scouts, killing French officers. The he built Fort Necessity for his men. 1754-The French and Indians retaliate in July, take the fort, kill VA militiamen! Meanwhile in Albany, NY…

Washington’s map of the Ohio River 1753-1754 with notes on French intentions

On the brink of war, some colonists urged unity. Ben Franklin, went to Albany, NY in June 1754 to meet with delegates from seven northern colonies. They met to discuss ways to strengthen colonial ties with the Iroquois League of 5 Indian nations.

They hoped to become allies to protect themselves from the French & hostile Indians in the west. In 1754 Benjamin Franklin proposed the Albany Plan of Union to unite the British North American colonies. He wanted a legislative body with the power to control trade and organize defenses. His plan called for legislators to be under the authority of the king of England.

Ben Franklin’s political cartoon from his newspaper The Pennsylvania Gazette 9 May 1754

“Union of the colonies is absolutely necessary for their preservation.” Benjamin Franklin, Reason for the Albany Plan of Union, July, 1754

The Albany Plan was rejected by both the colonists and the British government in England. The King worried that the Plan would create a powerful colonial government, difficult to control. The colonists did not see the value of unity & worried about losing individual power.

No Albany Plan!

No Colonial Unity!

This Means War!!!

July, 1754- French surrounded Fort Necessity. Colonel Washington surrendered. The surrender of Fort Necessity starts the French and Indian War.

The French & Indian War

The British & their American colonists waged war against the French & Indians along the Great Lakes, in the Ohio Valley and in New France (Canada) from 1754 to 1763 and called it the French and Indian War. Another war between Britain and France raged in Europe called the Seven Years’ War from 1756 to 1763. These wars were all about LAND, ECONOMICS and POWER. Whoever owns the land, boosts the economy and has domination over over all.

Causes: in Textbook: American migration (page 89-90) British and French rivalry (see pages 104-5) British v French colonization practices (105)

Overall Causes of the War: • Britain and France fought for land supremacy in the New World for decades. • Britain built forts in French-claimed Territory known as the Northwest Territory in present day western Pennsylvania and in Ohio. • English and French settlers colonized the Ohio River Valley, causing conflict.

• English settlers, from Virginia and Pennsylvania, and French settlers, from the Great Lakes and southeastern Canada, each thought they owned the rights to the disputed land in these Northwest Territories in the Ohio Valley. • Washington attacked and killed French officials outside Fort Duquesne in May, 1754. This was the impetus.