French and Indian War
Richard Adames
The French and Indian war was a war that embarrassed the French, nearly bankrupted the British, screwed the Native American, and paved way to the American Revolution. The French and Indian war was named after the British opponents, the French and Indian even though Native Americans fought on both sides. Other names used for the war include The Seven Year war, the Fourth Intercolonial war, and the Great War for the Empire. The seven year war was a power struggle between Great Britain, France, Austria, and Prussia. These conflicts stretched across most of the world. Our main focus is in North America where the name the French and Indian war comes into play but it is important to understand that a power struggle was already in place. The war started over territory which included parts of upstate New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and parts of Ontario with the Ohio country being the most important because of rich game and fur trade.
The war was fought primarily along the frontiers separating New France from the British colonies from Virginia to Nova Scotia, and began with a dispute over the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, the site of present-day Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
From the Jumonville Glen skirmish in 1754 to the capture of Montreal in 1760 the war lasted about 6 years.
Native American’s traded with both the British and the French, they traded mainly fur which the French and British sold for great profit back in their homelands. The Native American had no other choice but to trade with the Europeans because this was the only way they could acquire weapons that would match that of the Europeans.
Those who had access to European weapons—particularly steel-edged weapons and firearms--- tended to be the most successful. To obtain these, warriors needed commodities, above all beaver pelts and other valuable animal skins, to trade to their European suppliers. (The War that made America, 6)
Native Americans fought on
The French and Indian war was a war that embarrassed the French, nearly bankrupted the British, screwed the Native American, and paved way to the American Revolution. The French and Indian war was named after the British opponents, the French and Indian even though Native Americans fought on both sides. Other names used for the war include The Seven Year war, the Fourth Intercolonial war, and the Great War for the Empire. The seven year war was a power struggle between Great Britain, France, Austria, and Prussia. These conflicts stretched across most of the world. Our main focus is in North America where the name the French and Indian war comes into play but it is important to understand that a power struggle was already in place. The war started over territory which included parts of upstate New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and parts of Ontario with the Ohio country being the most important because of rich game and fur trade.
The war was fought primarily along the frontiers separating New France from the British colonies from Virginia to Nova Scotia, and began with a dispute over the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, the site of present-day Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
From the Jumonville Glen skirmish in 1754 to the capture of Montreal in 1760 the war lasted about 6 years.
Native American’s traded with both the British and the French, they traded mainly fur which the French and British sold for great profit back in their homelands. The Native American had no other choice but to trade with the Europeans because this was the only way they could acquire weapons that would match that of the Europeans.
Those who had access to European weapons—particularly steel-edged weapons and firearms--- tended to be the most successful. To obtain these, warriors needed commodities, above all beaver pelts and other valuable animal skins, to trade to their European suppliers. (The War that made America, 6)
Native Americans fought on
Cited: H. W. Brands, T. H. Breen, R. Hal Williams, Ariela J. Gross. American Stories: A History of the United States. Pearson: 2004. Fred Anderson. The War That Made America: A Short History of the French and Indian War. Penguin: 2006. 1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_and_Indian_War 2http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/related/frin.htm