2. As the 17th century closed, a titanic
struggle was shaping up for mastery
of the North American continent.
The contest involved three Old
World nations – Britain, France, and
Spain – and it unavoidably swept up
Native American peoples as well as
colonists.

3. FRANCE FINDS a FOOTHOLD in CANADA
Like England and Holland, France was a latecomer in the scramble for New World
territory, and for basically the same reasons. France was convulsed during the 1500’s
by foreign wars and domestic strife, including a conflict between Roman Catholics and
French Huguenots.

4. A new era dawned in 1598 when the Edict of Nantes, issued by the crown, granted limited
toleration to the French Huguenots. The end of domestic strife allowed France to become
the mightiest and most feared country in Europe.
In 1608, a year after Jamestown, the
permanent beginnings of a vast empire
were established at Quebec. The
leading figure was Samuel de Champlain
(the “Father of New France”).

5. Champlain entered into friendly relations – a fateful friendship – with the nearby Huron
Indian tribes. He joined them in battle against their foes, the federated Iroquois tribes
of New York. Guns provided to the Huron defeated the Iroquois – France earned the
lasting enmity of the Iroquois.

6. The government of New France was an autocratic royal regime – much more strict than
the British colonies.
Population in Catholic New France grew at a listless pace. Unlike dispossessed English
farmers, French farmers had little incentive to move to North America. And Huguenots
were denied a refuge in North America. And the French govt., in any case, favored its
Caribbean island colonies, rich in sugar and rum.

7. NEW FRANCE FANS OUT
New France did contain one valuable commodity – the beaver. Beaver pelts were prized
in Europe.

8. French trappers recruited Indians into the fur business. The downside for the
Indians included exposure to disease, alcoholism, and the shattering effect on Indian
culture from French contact.

9. THE CLASH of EMPIRES
From 1688 to 1763, four bitter wars convulsed Europe and they amounted to a death
struggle for domination in Europe as well as the New World. The first two wars pitted
British colonials against French settlers and their Indian allies. Both France and
England at this stage did not consider America worth the commitment of regular
troops, so primitive guerrilla warfare prevailed. Spain would eventually join the conflict
on the French side.
Peace terms, signed in Utrecht in 1713, rewarded the British with French Acadia
(Nova Scotia), Newfoundland, and the Hudson Bay. They also won limited trading
rights in Spanish America.
Explain the War of Jenkins’s Ear (1739) between the British & Spaniards.

10. Explain the War of Austrian Succession in Europe – why were the New England
colonists outraged by the Treaty of 1748.

12. WASHINGTON INAUGURATES WAR with FRANCE
What geographic area served as
the flashpoint? Why was this
area coveted by both the
British/colonials and the French?
Explain the colonial action leading
to the conflict.

16. Contrast the French and Indian War with the three preceding ones. Identify the
combatants (Old World & New World). And describe the state of colonial unity at
the outset of hostilities.

17. In order to defeat
the French and The British
control N. America, offered half-
the British would hearted
urgently rely on assurances to
their colonial the colonists,
population to fight. but they would
later renege.
The colonial men,
although most of Both sides,
them loyal to the colonists and
British crown, were British officials,
reluctant to leave were angry at
their frontier the other from
homesteads to fight. the negotiations.
They were
demanding
guarantees that if
the French and/or
Indian allies
attacked the
frontier, they would
be allowed to return.

20. GLOBAL WAR and COLONIAL DISUNITY
War strategy for the colonists focused on the Albany Congress (1754).
1. Goals
2. Ben Franklin’s plan
3. The fate of Franklin’s plan (colonial v. British govt.)

22. BRADDOCK’S BLUNDERING and
ITS AFTERMATH
Britain dispatched Gen. Edward Braddock to capture Fort Duquesne. What were
Braddock’sstrengths and weaknesses going into this mission?
Identify and describe the problems threatening the British war effort at this
point in the conflict.
The British launched a full-scale invasion of Canada in 1756. Why did it fail?
Gen. Braddock

26. WILLIAM PITT – THE “ORGANIZER of VICTORY”
In the hour of crisis, Britain brought forth
a superlative leader, William Pitt.
Pitt united the previously divided colonies
by guaranteeing the colonists payments for
military service & supplies.
Explain Pitt’s strategy for victory in
Louisbuorg (1758) and Quebec (1760).

27. When Montreal fell in the aftermath of the Battle of Quebec in 1760, the French flag
fluttered in Canada for the last time.

31. Identify and describe the major provisions of the Treaty of Paris (1763). Explain
the significance of the outcome for the British and the French.

32. RESTLESS COLONISTS
Explain the impact of the conflict on the colonials and the British regarding their
perceptions of the other and the fate of N. America. Regarding colonial unity,
assess the progress made and the continuing problems that would be factors in the
upcoming American Revolution.

34. FRENCH and INDIAN WAR POST-SCRIPT
1. The elimination of the “French Menace” changes the colonial psyche.
2. The Spanish and Indian menaces were now substantially reduced. The French defeat deprived
the Indians of their most powerful diplomatic weapon – the ability to play-off the rival
European powers against one another.
3. The defeat of Ottawa chief Pontiac in 1763 convinced the British of the need to stabilize
relationships with the Indians and to keep regular troops stationed in America, a measure for
which they would ask the colonials to foot a portion of the bill.
4. The colonials began pouring over the Appalachian Mts.
5. The British issued the Proclamation of 1763 (British intention v. colonial perception)
6 The stage is set for a showdown between the increasingly independent-minded colonials and the
determined British government to restrain them.