The French and Indian War was fought between France and its American Indian allies and England and its allies. The British gained control of New France and Spanish Florida, while France gave Spain control of French Louisiana. The war was caused by territorial disputes, the fur trade, and religious differences. Prior to the war, French expeditions failed to drive the British out of the Ohio Country. The war began with the Battle of Jumonville Glen and ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1763.
The French and Indian War (1754-1763) was fought between France and its American Indian allies (Algonquin, Lenape, Ojibwa, Ottawa, Shawnee, and Wyandot) and England and its allies (the American colonies and the Iroquois Confederacy ). At the end of the French and Indian War, the British gained control of all parts of New France east of the Mississippi River and also captured Spanish Florida. Since France and Spain were allies, France gave Spain control of the portion of French Louisiana that lay west of the Mississippi River to compensate Spain for the loss of her.
The French and Indian War had several causes. For example, both New France and New England wanted to expand their territories to gain more control over the fur trade. Both sides claimed the Ohio Country, a large area of land covering most of what is now America east of the Mississippi. Both France and England ignored the land claims of Native American tribes, which angered the tribes. Additionally, Protestant New Englanders were concerned about Catholic influence in North America, due to the importance of the Roman Catholic church in New France affairs.
Prior to the French and Indian War, several French expeditions took place in various areas of North America. The first, led by Pierre-Joseph Céloron in 1749, went to the Ohio Country with assignments to drive the British out of the area and also to strengthen alliances with American Indian groups in the claimed territory. Neither objective was achieved, and Céloron reported that the American Indians in the Ohio Country were already allied with the British and refused to switch. The second expedition, led by Charles Michel de Langlade in 1752, led to a French attack on Pickawillany in the Miami Nation. The third expedition, led by Paul Marin de la Malgue in 1753, was ordered to protect the Ohio Country from the British. To do this, Marin and his men built forts throughout the area.
In 1753, Virginia Governor Robert Dinwiddie ordered General George Washington to deliver a message to Jacques Legardeur de Saint-Pierre, the leader of French forces in the Ohio Country. The message was a request for Legardeur to immediately withdraw his troops from the area, which he refused to do. Soon after, in 1754, the first battle of the French and Indian War took place. It was called the Battle of Jumonville Glen and began when General Washington ran into a group of French soldiers and ended when he and his troops won the ensuing battle. Many battles throughout eastern North America occurred during the war. Due to William Pitt’s leadership and the fact that the French had begun to ignore the French and Indian War in favor of other military campaigns, the British eventually won, and the war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1763.
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