DBQ: The French And Indian War

The French and Indian War (1754-1763) took place in a very daunting period of American history, when there was a lot of tension between the colonists and the British who lived in England. This eventually led to the American Revolution. At the time, the English, the French, and the Spanish all had control over some parts of North America. The war was mainly a struggle over which nation, France or Britain, would have control of the Ohio River Valley, although there were native groups that allied themselves with one side or the other. It began with the Battle of Fort Duquesne and was considered the first world war, or the Seven Years’ War in Europe. However, the French and Indian War itself altered the relationship between Britain and its American
In the period between 1740-1766, land meant more power, therefore it was the main focus of the French and Indian War. Document 1 shows a map of European land holdings in North America before and after the war. The French had a very limited influence in the continent beyond 1763, since they had lost most of their valuable territory to the English and Haiti was the only French-controlled area that remained. Even the Russians began to extend their holdings. The Spanish continued to spread upward and claimed land near the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, as they had originally done in Central and South America centuries before, when Hernando Cortes conquered the Aztec Empire. However, the British didn’t refer to the war as the French and Indian War, but rather the “Seven Years’ War.” England was able to take control of the much-desired Ohio River Valley, sealing its fate as the dominating colonizer of North America and the most powerful country in Europe. Document 3 is a 1755 letter written by George Washington, who wanted to serve under General Edward Braddock and gain military knowledge. The war began in 1754, despite the English and the colonists having different motives for expanding west. They used the colonists to their advantage, recruiting them to ensure victory in the French and Indian War and suddenly creating more policies that restricted their rights. Washington unknowingly set off the war with an attack on Fort Duquesne and later had to admit that he assassinated the French leader. He was from Virginia himself and he understood that his fellow Virginians had a desire to move west so they could farm and live on the land, but the British government was only interested in gaining power and territory near the Ohio River Valley. In fact, the French and Indian War wasn’t going so well