The French and Indian War

The French and Indian War

The French and Indian War raged from 1754 to 1763, and it led to drastic changes in the North American continent. By the middle of the eighteenth century, European colonists had lived in North America for nearly a century and a half. With the arrival of the Europeans, the Native Americans lives were forever changed because the expansion of European settlement not only displaced indigenous people, but it also led to the spread of many diseases. The Native Americans had never been exposed to the European pathogens, so therefore they had no immunities to the diseases which led to the vast decimation of whole tribes. Also the European visitors were by far more technologically advanced than the Natives, and this factor along with diseases weakening the tribes was the reason why the Indians were unable to resist the Europeans expansion and domination. In the 1600s, Native Americans were seen as obstacles to European advancement; however, by in the 1700s alliances and rivalries developed between the Natives and the Europeans as the political battles of Europe merged with the existing tensions between the Native Americans. With the addition of rivalries and alliance systems, the ever increasing tension over land disputes between the French and the British, and the failure to negotiate effectively, the North American continent was headed on the path of war, and the world would feel extravagant ripple effects after the forthcoming war.

One of the main reasons for the French and Indian war, was the Europeans greed for land expansion. Tensions mounted as the settlers of New France wanted to increase their land claim so that their fur trade would expand. The New France settlers had their eyes set upon the Ohio River Valley and the Great Lakes. Also the British crown also started moving into the Ohio River Valley, and to ensure settlement the British granted land to companies who would move into the Valley and expand. The mounting tensions eventually found its way into Europe, as with the war in the 1740s in which George the second of England and his allies in Germany faced off against France and Austria. As a result of this struggle of power the British captured the French city of Louisville. The French attempted to regain control of the city, but they were unsuccessful. This struggle of power spread to North America as Britain saw the French territory on the St. Lawrence threatening British holdings on the Atlantic coast, New England colonists were thinking about invading Canada to prevent the French from getting any strongholds in North America. To prevent the rising tension from leading to a larger conflict, a peace treaty in 1748 was enacted; however, this peace treaty only delayed the hostilities from developing into a much larger issue. Soon after the peace treaty, tensions were again rising. The New France leader Marquis Duquesne began establishing settlements in the North American