The French and Indian War (1754-63) was a conflict involving Britain, France, their colonies in North America and various Native American tribes. The war was triggered by territorial disputes between British colonials and French settlers in north-eastern America, then expanded into a larger global conflict called the Seven Years’ War. Britain emerged victorious and the balance of power in North America was changed significantly. Both Britain and France also incurred significant financial costs that contributed to the outbreak of two revolutions.
The French in North America
Rivalry and conflict between British and French settlers in North America dated back almost 150 years before the outbreak of the French and Indian War. The French arrived on the continent in the mid-1500s and established Quebec in 1608. These early French settlements were small and sometimes fell prey to English raids or privateers.
In the mid-1600s, the French royal government began to take a more active role in New France, as they called their American territories. Intrepid French were offered financial incentives to relocate there and the first military garrison was deployed to Quebec in 1665. At this time, France’s interest in North America was largely driven by the lucrative fur trade.
For the most part, the French were more interested in exploration and trade than establishing large populations, towns and governments. Their settlers penetrated deep into Canada and down the Mississippi and Ohio valleys, claiming these lands for France and forging good personal and trading relationships with most Native American tribes they encountered.
Despite New France being a vast territory (around 8 million square kilometres) it was thinly populated. The number of French settlers at the outbreak of the war was between 60,000 and 70,000, compared to almost 2 million resident in the British colonies.
Outbreak of war
Britain and France had been in a state of imperial rivalry for the previous century, going to war three times. The outbreak of the French and Indian War, however, was triggered by North American tensions rather than global issues.
For decades, British settlers had been moving into nominally French territory west and north-west of the Appalachians. Settlers of both nationalities erected a series forts and laid claim to beaver runs and waterways. In doing so, each regularly ignored the claims of the other.
By 1750, the French had strengthened their presence along a line running from Canada through the Great Lakes and down to the Ohio River. An increased French military presence in the area, not far from their existing western borders, generated some alarm in the British colonies.
In 1753, a young Virginian militia officer named George Washington was sent to western Pennsylvania to caution the French about their encroachment onto British territory. Washington was warmly received by French commanders but his demands were rebuffed.
The following May, a group of around 50 men commanded by Washington defeated a smaller French platoon at Jumonville Glen in what is now Pennsylvania. Most historians consider this the first battle of the French and Indian War.
A war of fortresses
Like many colonial wars of the time, the French and Indian War was a conflict where fortresses were used strategically, to claim and to hold territory. At a time when artillery was less mobile, these fortresses were often difficult to penetrate or overrun.
After his victory at Jumonville Glen, Washington began construction of a crude defence at Fort Necessity. In early July 1754, it was threatened by a force of several hundred French soldiers, militia and Native Americans. Heavily outnumbered, Washington was forced to negotiate. The surrender document he eventually signed was in French, a language he did not understand, and contained an embarrassing personal admission of liability.
With the violence escalating, Britain sent Major-General Edward Braddock to North America to take command of the situation. Braddock arrived in February 1755 and after meeting with colonial governors and militia commanders, formulated a strategy to drive the French out of the Allegheny region. His first foray into battle (July 1755) was disastrous, however, and Braddock himself was shot to death.
These battles along the frontier continued. When Paris escalated by sending large numbers of regular troops and naval vessels to North America, the British responded by declaring war on France in May 1756.
Early disasters
Britain’s initial campaigns were disastrous, chiefly due to incompetent leadership. The first British commander-in-chief, William Shirley, became embroiled in personal feuds and could not muster sufficient support. In early 1756, Shirley was replaced with Lord Loudon, a career officer with little experience and a questionable temperament.
In August 1757, around 8,000 French and Native American troops laid siege to Fort William Henry, a British garrison on Lake George in northern New York. Surrounded and hopelessly outnumbered, the fort’s commander, Colonel George Munro, surrendered to his French rival, Louis-Joseph de Montcalm. The 2,000 British soldiers and civilians inside the fort were allowed to leave but an indeterminate number were later slaughtered by Natives allied to the French.
These disasters created some political upheaval in London, prompting a change of government. In 1758, the incoming prime minister, William Pitt, sought to widen the focus of the war by attacking French possessions in Canada and West Africa. Combined with a renewed campaign in the Ohio River valley, this overstretched French resources and produced some significant victories in 1758-59.
British-American tensions
The French and Indian War created friction between British commanders and colonial leaders. There was, in general, a shortage of political unity and cooperation from the 13 colonies with regard to the prosecution of the war.
As the war unfolded, Britain shipped more than 10,000 regular soldiers to America. Deploying, moving, housing and feeding this force was a difficult and expensive business, costing in excess of 300,000 pounds per annum.
British commanders expected to receive support from the American colonists in the form of volunteer military service from colonial militias and housing and supplies from colonial governments. This was not consistently provided. Requests for colonial militias or labour were often rebuffed. So, too, were requests for quartering for British regular troops.
Colonists who lived closer to the conflict – for example, in upstate Pennsylvania and New York and along the frontier – had a close interest in halting the French advance, so provided militia units to serve under British command. This created its own problems because many colonial militias were poorly managed or led, often by haughty British officers who had little regard for them.
Another significant source of tension was continued illegal trade between the colonies and France, even during the war when technically an act of treason. In greater need of American imports, French colonists in the West Indies and elsewhere offered even higher prices, making the smuggling trade even more lucrative. In 1759, Thomas Penn wrote that the port of Philadelphia was “swarming with [French ships] unloading illegal cargoes, cheating the King of his duty [and] carrying provisions and ready money to the enemy.”
Outcomes and consequences
The outcome of the war was a complete victory for the British. The Treaty of Paris (1763) placed all land east of the Mississippi River, as well as modern-day Canada, under the control of England. The French were removed as a political force in eastern North America, though thousands of their settlers remained.
This British victory came at considerable cost. The French and Indian War left Britain with a sizeable 130-million-pound deficit, almost doubling the national debt. The burden of managing and securing vast amounts of new territory in North America also fell to Westminster – along with the costs of doing so.
With half the American continent now under its control, the British Parliament now took a closer interest in colonial laws and policy. Expansion and settlement in the new western territories needed to be regulated and controlled. There was also a view that the American colonies, having not carried their weight in the conflict, needed closer oversight and management.
“In the mainland colonies people lit bonfires and staged parades to celebrate Britain’s victory and the safety of their own borders. [But] the war left scars, including memories of the British military’s arrogance toward provincial soldiers and lingering resentment over the quartering of British soldiers at colonial expense. The colonists were aware that the British had grounds for resentment also, particularly the profitable trade some Americans had carried on with the enemy, even in the midst of the war. Suspicion and resentment, a growing sense of difference, a tug of loyalties between the local community and the larger empire – these were the unexpected outcomes of a glorious victory.”
Carol Berkin, historian
1. The French and Indian War was a conflict between Britain, France, their colonies in North America, as well as Native American tribes allied to both nations.
2. It was sparked by clashes over territory between British and French settlers in north-eastern America in 1754-55. British declared war on France in 1756, leading to a wider conflict called the Seven Years’ War.
3. The war exposed some contradictions and tensions between the British and their American colonies, who failed to adequately support the war effort with men and materiel.
4. Colonial attitudes to the war also raised concerns. Many viewed it as an imperial conflict they were not obliged to support. Illegal trade with the French also continued during the war.
5. Britain emerged victorious in 1763 but at significant financial cost. The acquisition of vast new territories required closer attention on America and a shift in Westminster’s colonial policy.
Citation information
Title: ‘The French and Indian War’
Authors: Jennifer Llewellyn, Steve Thompson
Publisher: Alpha History
URL: https://alphahistory.com/americanrevolution/french-and-indian-war
Date published: July 14, 2019
Date updated: November 20, 2023
Date accessed: April 19, 2024
Copyright: The content on this page is © Alpha History. It may not be republished without our express permission. For more information on usage, please refer to our Terms of Use.