French and Indian War facts for kids
Quick facts for kids French and Indian War |
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| Part of the Seven Years' War | |||||||||
 The war theater |
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| 42,000 regulars and militia (peak strength, 1758) | 10,000 regulars (troupes de la terre and troupes de la marine, peak strength, 1757) | ||||||||
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Unknown | ||||||||
The French and Indian War was a big fight in North America between 1754 and 1763. It involved Great Britain and France, along with their Native American allies. This war was mainly about who would control the land that is now part of the United States and Canada.
This conflict was actually a part of a larger worldwide war called the Seven Years' War. Because France was already fighting Prussia in Europe, they couldn't send many soldiers to North America.
Contents
Why the French and Indian War Started
This war began for several important reasons, mostly about land and power.
Land Disputes in the Ohio Country
- Both the British and the French wanted to own the Ohio Country. This land is located between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River, stretching from the Great Lakes to the Ohio River.
- France wanted to keep its colony, New France, while Britain wanted to stop them from expanding.
- Both countries were interested in the fur trade, especially for beaver pelts. They also hoped to send many settlers there in the future.
Native American Land Claims
- Both European powers used the claims of different Native American tribes to support their own land claims.
- The British said the land belonged to the Iroquois Confederacy, while the French claimed it belonged to the Huron tribe.
- Sadly, neither side really asked what the Native American people living in the Ohio Country wanted for their own land.
Religious Differences and Fears
- The British Thirteen Colonies were mostly Protestant. They worried about the influence of the Roman Catholic Church in North America, which was strong in France.
- British settlers saw this as a threat to their religious freedom, which they valued under English law.
Key Battles and Events
The war involved many battles as both sides fought for control.
Early Battles and Fort Duquesne
- The French built a new fort in the disputed Ohio Country. The British tried to make them leave.
- After a small battle in 1754, the British tried again in 1755 at the Battle of Monongahela.
- General Edward Braddock led 1,500 British soldiers to attack Fort Duquesne. He failed and died, along with many of his men.
- A young officer named George Washington helped lead the remaining soldiers to safety.
French Victories in 1756 and 1757
- In 1756, the French captured the British Fort Oswego, taking over 1,700 British soldiers as prisoners.
- The French won again at Fort William Henry in 1757. After the fort was captured, some Native American allies of the French did not follow the rules of surrender. They killed about 150 British soldiers who had already given up.
British Victories and the Fall of Quebec
- In 1759, a major battle took place at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham (also known as the Battle of Quebec). The British defeated the French and took control of Quebec City. This was a huge win for the British.
- In 1760, Field Marshal Jeffery Amherst led the British to defeat the French again. The British took control of Montreal, which was another very important city.
What Happened After the War
The war officially ended with a peace treaty, and it changed North America a lot.
End of Fighting and Treaty of Paris
- The fighting in North America mostly stopped on September 8, 1760. The French surrendered Montreal and the rest of Canada to the British.
- The war officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris on February 10, 1763.
- France had to give up almost all its land in North America east of the Mississippi River to Britain. They only kept the small islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon near Newfoundland.
- Britain gave France a choice: keep their Canadian land or keep the valuable Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique. France chose the islands because their sugar plantations were very profitable.
Impact on the American Colonies
- After the war, the British government issued the Royal Proclamation of 1763. This made colonists in British North America unhappy because they felt they didn't get enough from the war's winnings.
- The war was very expensive for Britain. To pay for it, England started taxing the American colonists.
- These taxes and the colonists' unhappiness were two of the main reasons that led to the American Revolution a few years later.
Interesting Facts About the War
- Some Native American tribes helped the French because the French had built better friendships with them than the British had.
- To encourage the colonies to work together against the French and Native Americans, Benjamin Franklin drew a famous cartoon. It showed the colonies as parts of a chopped-up snake, with the words "Join, or Die." It was the first political cartoon printed in America.
- Roland-Michel Barrin de la Galissonière, who was the governor of New France, had lead signs made. These signs told settlers and travelers that they were on French land.
- While most Native American tribes sided with the French, a few chose to help the English.
- Many people known as Cajuns today are descendants of French people who moved to Louisiana after the war.
- The war even inspired the famous song “Yankee Doodle.”
- Spain, which joined the war to help France in 1762, was forced to give Florida to the British.
- George Washington was a colonel in the British militia during this war, long before he became a famous American leader.
Images for kids
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Participants in the Seven Years' War. Canadians and Europeans view the French and Indian War as part of the Seven Years' War, while Americans view it as a separate conflict.
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The coureurs des bois were French Canadian fur traders, who did business with natives throughout the Mississippi and St. Lawrence watershed.
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Map of Iroquois expansion, 1711. By the mid-18th century, the Iroquois Confederacy had expanded from Upstate New York to the Ohio Country.
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Roland-Michel Barrin de La Galissonière, the Governor of New France sent an expedition in 1749 into the Ohio Country in an attempt to declare French sovereignty.
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Fort Le Boeuf in 1754. In the spring of 1753, the French began to build a series of forts in the Ohio Country.
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Washington with his war council during the Battle of Fort Necessity.
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In June 1755, the British captured French naval ships sent to provide war matériel to the Acadian and Mi'kmaw militias in Nova Scotia.
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British forces under fire from the French and Indian forces at Monongahela, when the Braddock expedition failed to take Fort Duquesne.
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British raid on the Acadian settlement of Grimross. Efforts to undermine the French Fortress of Louisbourg resulted in the the Acadians being forced to leave.
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In January 1756, John Campbell was named as the new British Commander-in-Chief, North America.
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In August 1756, French soldiers and native warriors led by Louis-Joseph de Montcalm successfully attacked Fort Oswego.
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A British expedition sent to invade Canada was repelled by the French at the Battle of Carillon in July 1758.
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After a three-month siege of Quebec City, British forces captured the city at the Plains of Abraham.
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French authorities surrendering Montreal to British forces in 1760.
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The resulting peace dramatically changed the political landscape of North America, with New France ceded to the British and the Spanish.
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The Quebec Act passed in 1774. It addressed several complaints held by French Canadians and Indians, although it angered American colonists.
See also
In Spanish: Guerra franco-indígena para niños
