The Seven Years' War (called the French and Indian War in the colonies) lasted from 1756 to 1763, forming a chapter in the imperial struggle between Britain and France called the Second Hundred Years' War. In the early 1750s, France's expansion into the Ohio River valley repeatedly brought it into conflict with the claims of the British colonies, especially Virginia.
Groups involved:
France , New France,Wabanaki Confederacy, Abenak ,iMi'kmaq ,AlgonquinCaughnawaga Mohawk, Lenape ,Ojibwa ,Ottawa ,Shawnee ,Wyandot
Battles:
British defeated at Ft. Duquesne | 1755 | Western Pennsylvania (present-day Pittsburgh) | Gen. Braddock's force of 1450 men surrounded and defeated by Indian and French-Canadian forces | American colonists refuse to serve under British commander | 1757 | American colonies | New British commander (Lord Loudoun) closely managed the war effort, demanding exact numbers of recruits and money from colonies. Colonial assemblies began to refuse to cooperate. | French take Ft. Oswego | 1756 | Upstate New York | French commander Montcalm takes fort, but is horrified to discover that his Indian allies kill wounded soldiers, take scalps, and make slaves of captives. | Massacre at Ft. William Henry | 1757 | Upstate New York | Following surrender of British and colonial garrison to Montcalm (who promised safe passage back to England), Indians killed 185 and took 310 British captive. | William Pitt guides British war effort | 1757-1761 | London | As Secretary of State, Pitt sought to reduce tension with colonists by promising payment in proportion to support of war effort, giving colonial assemblies control of recruitment, sending thousands more British soldiers, and replacing Lord Loudoun with a more reasonable commander | Louisbourg and Ft. Duquesne captured by British | 1758 | Quebec & Western Pennsylvania | British-American-Indian forces