Events
1754
George Washington’s forces initiate French and Indian
War
Albany Congress convenes
1755
Braddock defeated
1758
British take Louisbourg
1759
British take Quebec
1760
British take Montreal
1763
Treaty of Paris ends French and Indian War
Pontiac attacks DetroitBritish issue Proclamation of 1763
Key People
-
George Washington
American general whose forces helped start the French
and Indian War in western Pennsylvania in 1754
-
General Edward “Bulldog” Braddock
British general who proved ineffective in fighting Native
American forces during the French and Indian War
-
William Pitt
Major
British statesman during second half of the French and Indian War;
successfully focused war efforts on defeating French forces in Canada
-
Pontiac
Ottawa
chief disillusioned by the French defeat in the war; organized unsuccessful
uprising against settlers after the war’s end
The Beginning of the War
Unlike the previous wars between European powers in the 1700s, the French
and Indian War was begun in North America—in the heartland
of the Ohio Valley, where both France and Britain held claims
to land and trading rights. Westward-moving British colonists were
particularly aggressive in their desire for new tracts of wilderness.
The French, in order to prevent further British encroachment on
what they believed to be French lands, began to construct a series
of forts along the Ohio River. Eventually, the two sides came into
conflict when a young lieutenant colonel from Virginia named George
Washington attacked French troops with his small militia
force and established Fort Necessity. Washington eventually surrendered
after the French returned in greater numbers.
Americans Fighting for the British
The opportunity to serve side by side with British regulars
during the war gave many Americans a sense of pride and confidence.
It is estimated that some 20,000 Americans
fought with the British against the French and Native American opposition.
Washington, though he was defeated more than once during the war,
was one of many colonists who gained valuable military and leadership
skills that later proved useful during the Revolutionary War.
At the same time, though military service gave colonists
a sense of pride, it also made many realize how different they were
from the British regulars with whom they fought. Many British regulars
disliked the colonists they were fighting to protect, and many British commanders
refused to acknowledge the authority of high-ranking colonial militia
officers.
Colonial Disunity
Furthermore, the British never managed to gain colonial
support for the conflict. Many colonists, especially those living
on the eastern seaboard far from the conflict, didn’t particularly
feel like fighting Britain’s wars. Many colonial legislatures refused
to support the war wholeheartedly until leading British statesman William
Pitt offered to pay them for their expenses. Some colonial
shippers were so disinterested in British policy that they actually
shipped food to the French and its European allies during the conflict.
In short, there was little colonial support for the war, but much
colonial unity that was subversive to British war aims.
The Albany Congress
To bolster more colonial support for the French and Indian
War, Britain called for an intercolonial congress to meet in Albany,
New York, in 1754. To promote the Albany
Congress, Philadelphia printer Benjamin Franklin created
his now-famous political cartoon of a snake with the caption “Join
or Die.”
Despite Franklin’s efforts, delegates from only seven
of the thirteen colonies chose to attend. The delegates at the Albany
conference agreed to support the war and also reaffirmed
their military alliance with the Iroquois against the French and
their Native American allies. But somewhat surprisingly, the delegates
at Albany also sent Parliament recommendations for increased colonial
unity and a degree of home rule. British ministers
in London—as well as the delegates’ own colonial legislatures—balked
at the idea.
