The French and Indian War

949 Words2 Pages

In July 1755, a few miles south of Fort Duquesne, now Pittsburg where the Alegheny and Monongahela rivers meet, a combined force of French and Indians ambushed British and colonial troops. This catastrophe was to ultimately become the starting point of the French and Indian War. During the “Seven Years War”, as the French and Indian War is commonly called, there were wins and losses on both sides, but ultimately the British were victorious with the help of William Pitt. However, the War caused England many economic, political, and ideological tribulations with the American colonists.
In response to a French threat to England’s western frontiers, delegates from seven northern and middle colonies gathered in Albany, New York, in June 1754. With the patronage of administers in London, they sought two goals: to persuade the Iroquois to abandon their traditional neutrality and to coordinate the defenses of the colonies. This Albany Congress succeeded in neither. While the Albany Congress representatives deliberated, Governor Robert Dinwiddie of Virginia sent a small military force westward to counter the French moves. Virginia claimed ownership of Ohio, and Governor Dinwiddie hoped to prevent the French from founding their permanent post there. However, the militia group was too late, for the French were already constructing Fort Duquesne at the strategic point where the Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers meet. George Washington was twenty-two and commanded the Virginian militia who attacked a French detachment and eventually surrendered after a day-long battle during which more than one-third of his men were killed or wounded. Washington had made a huge mistake that would eventually set of a war that would encompass nearly the entire world.
“America, mayest well rejoice, the Children of New England may be glad and triumph” (Doc. E). Led by William Pitt, a civilian official that was placed in charge of the war effort in 1757, Britain pursued a military strategy that was lacking in the years prior. In July 1758, British forces recaptured the fortress at Louisburg, cutting off the major French supply route. In a spectacular attack in 1759, General James Wolfe’s soldiers defeated the French on the Plains of Abraham and took Quebec. A year later the British captured Montreal, which was the last French stronghold on the continent, which ended the American phase of the...

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... was one that largely left them alone. The Whigs warned the people to guard against the government’s attempts to encroach on their liberty and seize their property. Rulers would try to corrupt and oppress the people and only the elected representatives could preserve their precious yet fragile liberty. Britain’s attempt to tighten the reigns of the government and to raise revenues from the colonies in the 1760’s and early 1770’s convinced many Americans that the Real Whigs’ reasoning applied to their current circumstances. The colonists believed that the excessive and unjust taxation could destroy their freedom. Though willing to contend for their rights, the colonists did not seek independence. They rather wanted some measure of self-government.
Throughout the course of the French and Indian War and its aftermath, England and the American colonists had a tough time in their economy and government. With a depleting treasury, high taxation plans, and a floundering government the American and British colonists had many conflicts with each other. However, these two independent and strongly reliable countries came through their problems in time and overcome the hardships they faced.

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1813 Words | 4 Pages
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The French and Indian War

The British and the American Colonists: Tension Prior to Revolutionary War

The Events and Impact of the Seven Years War