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French and Indian War facts for kids

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French and Indian War
Part of the Seven Years' War
French and indian war map.svg
The war theater
Date 1754–1763
Location
North America
Result

British victory

Territorial
changes
France gave New France east of the Mississippi River to Great Britain, retaining Saint Pierre and Miquelon, and gave Louisiana to Spain
Belligerents
Commanders and leaders
Strength
42,000 regulars and militia (peak strength, 1758) 10,000 regulars (troupes de la terre and troupes de la marine, peak strength, 1757)
Casualties and losses
  • 1,512 killed in action
  • 1,500 died of wounds
  • 10,400 died of disease
Unknown

The French and Indian War was fought between 1754 and 1763 in British North America and French North America. They fought over land which is now in the United States and Canada. The French had some Native American allies and the British had other allies.

The conflict took place during the Seven Years' War. France was already fighting Prussia. Because of this, they did not send many troops to Canada.

Causes

Battles

The French built a new fort in the territory they both wanted, and the British decided to try to get them to leave. After failing in a small battle in 1754 they tried again with the Battle of Monongahela in 1755. The British commander, General Edward Braddock, led 1,500 British soldiers in an attack on Fort Duquesne. He failed and died with many of his men. A militia officer, George Washington, led the defeated survivors home.

In 1756, the French captured the British Fort Oswego. They took more than 1,700 British soldiers captive.

The French were victorious again at Fort William Henry in 1757. After they captured the fort, the Indians did not follow the rules of British surrender. They killed about 150 British soldiers after they had surrendered.

In 1759, at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham (also called the Battle of Quebec), the British defeated the French and took control of Quebec City.

In 1760, Field Marshal Jeffery Amherst led the British in the defeat of the French. The British took control of Montreal.

Outcome

The fighting in North America stopped on September 8, 1760, with the French surrender of Montreal and the rest of Canada to the British.

The war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris on February 10, 1763. France had to give its North American lands east of the Mississippi River to Britain except the small islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, near Newfoundland. Britain offered France the choice to give up its Canadian land or the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique, which British troops had taken during the war. France chose to keep the islands, which were valuable for their sugar plantations.

With the Royal Proclamation of 1763, colonists in British North America became unhappy over their share of the winnings. The war had been expensive and England began taxing the American colonists to pay for it. These were two of the causes of the American Revolution.

Interesting facts about the French and Indian War

  • Some Indian tribes helped the French fight because the French had been better at befriending them than the British had.
  • To encourage the colonies to unite in the battle against the French and Indians, Benjamin Franklin printed a drawing showing the colonies as parts of a chopped-up, writhing snake. It was the first political cartoon printed in America.
  • Roland-Michel Barrin de la Galissonière, the governor of New France, had signs made of lead that told settlers and travelers that they were traveling on French land.
  • While most Indian tribes sided with the French, there were a few that sided with the English.
  • Many present-day Cajuns are descendants of these French and Indian War refugees that settled in Louisiana.
  • The war inspired the song “Yankee Doodle.”
  • Spain, which allied with France in 1762, was forced to give Florida to the British.
  • George Washington was a colonel in the British militia during the war.

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Guerra franco-indígena para niños

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