The French and Indian War or the Seven Years War was known as the bloodiest American battle in the 18th century. It was so intense that it took more lives than the American Revolution, involved people on three continents, including the Caribbean. This war was a product of an imperial struggle, basically a clash between the French and English over territory and wealth. This war can also be seen as a product of a rivalry between the British and French colonists.
There was a rivalry between the French and British for many reasons. For one, they both claimed that they owned Ohio. Is it possible for two countries to own the same land? This was one of the main causes of the French and Indian War; disagreement on land. The British really wanted to move westward, but that was a problem. See, if the British moved west, they would bump into the French’s land. The British begged and begged to have that strip of land, but the French just wouldn’t budge. I mean, it was their land, so they had the right to say no. Something else these two European countries fought over was that they both used the Native American claims to the land. This meant they would use the Native Americans and their land to fight and say they had more. The Indians thought that the French would win, not the British. This is why the Native Americans took side with the French. Another reason the Native Americans took side with the French because they thought that if the French win the war, then they would give them back a little of their land because of the help. They didn’t side with the British because they knew that the British would not give them anything in return for helping, even if the Native Americans helped the British win. One last reason the Indians got involved with the French was because there were not that many French, which meant there was room for Indians. They once again did not want to get involved with the British because since there were already so many British, they would have kicked out the Indians like they were nothing.
To sum it up into simpler words, some of the main causes of the French and Indian War were that both the French and the British said they owned Ohio, both of these countries used Native Americans as an advantage, and the British colonists feared the control of a pope in North America. Overall, these were the main causes of this war. One of the most important soldiers in the French and Indian War was George Washington. Some interesting facts about George Washington arethathewasbornonFebruary22,1732nearWakefield,Virginia. SomejobsandworkWashingtondidwasbecomingaplanter,a surveyor,asoldier intheFrenchandIndianWar,apoliticianin Virginia’sHouseofBurgesses,andmemberofthefirstandsecond ContinentalCongress. In1753,George WashingtonwassenttowarntheFrenchthattheland intheOhioRiverValleywasnottheirs.Washingtonled150Virginia militiagroupstoFortDuquese.GeorgeWashingtonwasthefuture militaryleaderwhoreceivedhistrainingduringtheFrenchandIndian War.TheysetupFortNecessity,whichwasaroundstockadeofwooden stakes.AscoutreportedFrenchSoldiersinanearbycamp,so Washington’smenattacked.Theyactuallyendedupkilling10soldiers, andforcedtherestofthesoldierstosurrender. Afterthiswarhappened,thereweremanyresultsthatfollowed. TwoofthemainresultswereBritishVictoryandtheTreatyofParis. Basically,theaftermathofthiswarsummedupwouldbeforone,the threatofanywesternattackbytheFrenchhadbeenremoved.Thewar increasedhostilityandbadfeelingbetweentheBritishandthe colonists.DefeatingFrancegavetheAmericantroopsconfidenceaswell asexperience.Lastly,thewarhelpedestablishbondsamongtroops fromdifferentcolonies. EventhoughthiswarwasoverwithaBritishVictory,the RevolutionaryWarwasnextinline.FundingforTheFrenchandIndian WarledtolotsofdebtforGreatBritain.SincetheBritishdidnotwantto payforthewar,theyfelttheAmericansshouldhelppaythedebt. Parliamentdecidedtopayforsomeofthedebt,whilecitizenswould havetopayforitalsowiththeStampAct.TheStampActplacedtaxon newspapers,legaldocuments,andlicenses.Thisactendedupbeinga FAILURE.Sincethecitizensweresoangry,thisendedupcausing problemsbetweenBritainandthecitizens.