French and Indian War

The French and Indian War is the American name for the decisive nine-year conflict (1754-1763) in North America between Great Britain and France, which was one of the theatres of the Seven Years' War. The war resulted in France's loss of all its possessions in North America except for some Caribbean islands and Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, two small islands off Newfoundland. The British acquired Canada while Spain gained Louisiana in compensation for its loss of Florida to the British.

Overview

The French and Indian War, unlike the others, began on North American soil and then spread to Europe, where Britain and France continued fighting. Britain officially declared war on France in 1756, marking the beginnings of the Seven Years' War in Europe. First Nations/Native Americans fought for both sides but primarily alongside the French. The major battles include French victories at Fort William Henry, Fort Ticonderoga, and against the Braddock Expedition, and British victories at Louisburg, Fort Niagara, Fort Duquesne, and—most significantly of all—at the Plains of Abraham outside of Quebec City, in which James Wolfe defeated a French garrison led by Louis-Joseph de Montcalm and then captured New France's capital.

Related Topics:
Europe - First Nations - Native American - Fort William Henry - Fort Ticonderoga - Braddock Expedition - Louisburg - Fort Niagara - Fort Duquesne - Plains of Abraham - Quebec City - James Wolfe - Louis-Joseph de Montcalm

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The war resulted in France's loss of all its possessions in North America except for some Caribbean islands and Saint Pierre and Miquelon, two small islands off Newfoundland. The British acquired Canada while Spain gained Louisiana in compensation for its loss of Florida to the British. One result of the war was that Britain gained control of a large French-speaking, Roman Catholic population in Lower Canada. Near the beginning of the war, in 1755, the British had expelled French-speaking populations in Acadia to Louisiana, creating the Cajun population, but this would not be possible in Canada.

Related Topics:
Caribbean - Saint Pierre and Miquelon - Newfoundland - Louisiana - Florida - Roman Catholic - Lower Canada - 1755 - Acadia - Cajun

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The war officially ended with the signing off the Treaty of Paris on February 10, 1763. France agreed to cede Canada to Britain, preferring to keep the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe because of its rich sugar crops and the ease with which it could be controlled. The European side of the war was also settled by the Treaty of Hubertusburg on February 15, 1763.

Related Topics:
Treaty of Paris - February 10 - 1763 - Guadeloupe - Sugar - Treaty of Hubertusburg

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The decisive result of the war meant that it was the last of the French and Indian Wars and helped create conditions that led to the American Revolutionary War. The British colonists no longer needed British protection from the French and resented the taxes imposed by Britain to pay for its military commitments as well as limitation on colonial settlements imposed by the British Royal Proclamation of 1763 in the newly acquired French territories in the Ohio Country and Illinois Country in the Ohio and Mississippi River valleys.

Related Topics:
French and Indian Wars - American Revolutionary War - British Royal Proclamation of 1763 - Ohio Country - Illinois Country - Ohio - Mississippi River

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