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The '''French and Indian War''', also known as the American chapter of the [[Seven Years War]] in Europe, was a war fought between [[Britain]] and [[France]] from 1754 to 1763 in [[North America]]. [[Native Americans]] fought for both sides, although mainly on the side of the French. The British were victorious, removing French influence from the continent and acquiring the land east of the [[Mississippi River]]. [[Spain]] was granted [[Louisiana]] as compensation for the loss of [[Florida]].  The war was officially ended with the signing of the [[Treaty of Paris]] in 1763.

The '''French and Indian War''', also known as the North American phase of the [[Seven Years War]] in Europe, was a war fought between [[Britain]] and [[France]] from 1754 to 1763 in territory that became Canada and the United States. [[Native Americans]] fought for both sides, although mainly on the side of the French. The British were victorious, ending France's control of Canada and the Mississippi Valley. [[Spain]] was granted [[Louisiana]] as compensation for the loss of [[Florida]].  The war was officially ended with the signing of the [[Treaty of Paris]] in 1763.

[[Image:WashingtonFIwar.jpg|thumb|250px|[[George Washington]] during the French and Indian War]]

[[Image:WashingtonFIwar.jpg|thumb|250px|[[George Washington]] during the French and Indian War]]

The war is called the ''French and Indian'' because the [[Iroquois]] confederacy—which had been playing the British and the French against each other successfully for decades fought on both sides. The French were defeated and in the [[Treaty of Paris (1763)]], France surrendered its vast North American empire to Britain.

The war is called the ''French and Indian'' because the [[Iroquois]] confederacy—which had been playing the British and the French against each other successfully for decades fought on both sides. The French were defeated and in the [[Treaty of Paris (1763)]], France surrendered its vast North American empire to Britain.

==British Empire==

==British Empire==

The French and Indian war took on a new significance for the North American colonists in Great Britain when [[William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham|William Pitt the elder]] decided that it was necessary to win the war against France at all costs. For the first time, North America was one of the main theatres of what could be termed a "world war". During the war, the British Colonies (including the [[Thirteen Colonies]], which would later become the basis of the United States) position as part of the British Empire was made truly apparent, as British military and civilian officials took on an increased presence in the lives of Americans. The war also increased a sense of American unity in other ways. It caused men, who might normally have never left their colonies, to travel across the continent, fighting alongside men from decidedly different, yet still "American," backgrounds. Throughout the course of the war, British officers trained American ones (most notably [[George Washington]]) for battle which would later benefit the American Revolution. Legislatures and officials of the American colonies had to cooperate intensively, for the first time, in pursuit of the continent-wide military effort.

British prime minister  [[William Pitt the elder]] decided that it was necessary to win the war against France at all costs. In previous wars America had been a side-show to Europe; not it was an important arena, though still not as important as central Europe. Militia and volunteers from the [[Thirteen Colonies]] became the main source of British manpower, augmented by British regiments and under the command of british professional soldiers.  

In Pennsylvania, [[Benjamin Franklin]] played a crucial role in organizing the defense of the colony over the objections of thepacifistic Quakers.  

In Pennsylvania, [[Benjamin Franklin]] played a crucial role in organizing the defense of the colony over the objections of thepacifistic Quakers.  

===Braddock's defeat===

===Braddock's defeat===

The war began when British troops under General Edward Braddock on their way to oust the French from Fort Duquesne (modern Pittsburgh) in 1755 were ambushed and defeated by French troops and their Indian allies at the battle of the Wilderness. Virginia colonel [[George Washington]] took over when Braddock was killed and led a successful retreat back to Virginia.   

The war began when British troops under General Edward Braddock on their way to oust the French from Fort Duquesne (modern Pittsburgh) in 1755 were ambushed and defeated by French troops and their Indian allies at the battle of the Wilderness. Virginia colonel [[George Washington]] took over when Braddock was killed and led a successful retreat back to Virginia.   

Washington's military experiences throughout the Ohio country during the French and Indian War prepared him to effectively manage logistical problems, strategic planning, troop morale and discipline, and ineffectual decisionmaking by elected officials during the [[American Revolution]].  

Washington's military experiences throughout the Ohio country during the French and Indian War prepared him to effectively manage logistical problems, strategic planning, troop morale and discipline, and ineffectual decisionmaking by elected officials during the [[American Revolution]].  

Braddock defeat showed the great disadvantage professional British soldiers had in fighting Indian warriors in the woods. The British adjusted to American conditions by recruiting Indian allies and American backwoodsmen to serve as rangers, and attempting to train British soldiers in American fighting conditions. The number of American rangers steadily expanded during the French and Indian War. Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Gage's 80th Regiment of Light Armed Foot in 1758 began a trend in establishing units better suited for American conditions. In 1759, light companies were formed in all the regular battalions in North America. By the war's end British troops in America had become efficient in irregular warfare and stood apart from other British units.<ref>Steve Brunwell,  "'A Service Truly Critical': The British Army and Warfare with the North American Indians, 1755-1764." ''War in History'' 1998 5(2): 146-175. 0968-3445 </ref>  

Braddock defeat showed the great disadvantage professional British soldiers had in fighting Indian warriors in the woods. The British adjusted to American conditions by recruiting Indian allies and American backwoodsmen to serve as rangers, and attempting to train British soldiers in American fighting conditions. The number of American rangers steadily expanded during the French and Indian War. Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Gage's 80th Regiment of Light Armed Foot in 1758 began a trend in establishing units better suited for American conditions. In 1759, light companies were formed in all the regular battalions in North America. By the war's end British troops in America had become efficient in irregular warfare and stood apart from other British units.<ref>Steve Brunwell,  "'A Service Truly Critical': The British Army and Warfare with the North American Indians, 1755-1764." ''War in History'' 1998 5(2): 146-175. 0968-3445 </ref>  

Indian warriors' played a major role in alliance with the French to attack the American backcountry of Virginia and Pennsylvania from 1754 to 1758.  The French and Canadians supplied their Indian allies from the Susquehanna and Ohio valleys to neutralize colonial Anglo-American military power during the larger Seven Years' War. But the warriors - chiefly Potawatomis and Ottawas - fought for their own goals and devised tactics for their own aims. Although the Indians depended on French supplies, they were not united as one people under explicit loyalty to French leadership. During 1754-58, the Indians successfully paralyzed the two colonies, and these four years of war present a complex picture of Indian groups. Individual groups of Indians had various motives, used strategies adapted to political aims as well as warfare, and waged battles devised to affect truces and alliances with whites and other Indians. Frontier warfare declined throughout 1758, not because Anglo-American forces defeated Indian war parties or the French, but because the French were unable to supply their Indian allies.<ref> Matthew C. Ward, "Fighting The 'Old Women': Indian Strategy on the Virginia and Pennsylvania Frontier, 1754-1758." ''Virginia Magazine of History and Biography'' 1995 103(3): 297-320. 0042-6636 </ref>  

Indian warriors' played a major role in alliance with the French to attack the American backcountry of Virginia and Pennsylvania from 1754 to 1758.  The French and Canadians supplied their Indian allies from the Susquehanna and Ohio valleys to neutralize colonial Anglo-American military power during the larger Seven Years' War. But the warriors - chiefly Potawatomis and Ottawas - fought for their own goals and devised tactics for their own aims. Although the Indians depended on French supplies, they were not united as one people under explicit loyalty to French leadership. During 1754-58, the Indians successfully paralyzed the two colonies, and these four years of war present a complex picture of Indian groups. Individual groups of Indians had various motives, used strategies adapted to political aims as well as warfare, and waged battles devised to affect truces and alliances with whites and other Indians. Frontier warfare declined throughout 1758, not because Anglo-American forces defeated Indian war parties or the French, but because the French were unable to supply their Indian allies.<ref> Matthew C. Ward, "Fighting The 'Old Women': Indian Strategy on the Virginia and Pennsylvania Frontier, 1754-1758." ''Virginia Magazine of History and Biography'' 1995 103(3): 297-320. 0042-6636 </ref>  

==Impact of war==

==Impact of war==

The British and colonists triumphed jointly over a common foe.  The colonists' loyalty to the mother country was stronger than ever before.  However, a disunity was beginning to form. [[British Prime Minister]] William Pitt the Elder had decided to wage the war in the colonies with the use of troops from the colonies and tax funds from Britain itself.  This was a successful wartime strategy, but after the war was over, each side believed that it had borne a greater burden than the other.  The British populace, the most heavily taxed of any in Europe, pointed out angrily that the colonists paid little to the royal coffers.  The colonists replied that their sons had fought and died in a war that served European interests more than their own.  The British answered that the colonists' poor discipline made them inferior soldiers anyway.  This dispute was a link in the chain of events that soon brought about the American Revolution.

 

The British and colonists triumphed jointly over a common foe.  The colonists' loyalty to the mother country was stronger than ever before.  However, a disunity was beginning to form. British Prime Minister Pitt waged the war in the colonies with the use of troops from the colonies and tax funds from Britain itself.  This was a successful wartime strategy, but after the war was over, each side believed that it had borne a greater burden than the other.  The British complained that the colonists paid little to the royal coffers.  The colonists replied that their sons had fought and died in a war that served European interests more than their own.  The British answered that the colonists' poor discipline made them inferior soldiers anyway.  This dispute was a link in the chain of events that soon brought about the [[American Revolution]].

===Memory===

===Memory===

In his great novel ''The Last of the Mohicans'' (1826), [[James Fenimore Cooper]] used a historical setting and relied heavily on historical documents. Cooper's fiction strayed little from his sources on historical incidents in 1757 during the French and Indian War. He simply invented some contextual features. Cooper resorted to artistic judgments when his sources were inadequate, but his porytrayals were highly realistic.<ref> Ian K. Steele, "Cooper and Clio: The Sources for 'A Narrative Of 1757.'"  ''Canadian Review Of American Studies'' 1989 20(3): 121-135. </ref>

In his great novel ''The Last of the Mohicans'' (1826), [[James Fenimore Cooper]] used a historical setting and relied heavily on historical documents. Cooper's fiction strayed little from his sources on historical incidents in 1757 during the French and Indian War. He simply invented some contextual features. Cooper resorted to artistic judgments when his sources were inadequate, but his porytrayals were highly realistic.<ref> Ian K. Steele, "Cooper and Clio: The Sources for 'A Narrative Of 1757.'"  ''Canadian Review Of American Studies'' 1989 20(3): 121-135. </ref>