by Jerome Carter

Created on: September 19, 2010

The French and Indian War played a defining role in shaping North America’s political and social makeup.  The war’s outcome played a significant role in the development of Canada and the United States.

The French and Indian War was the North American extension of the Seven Years’ War, which lasted from 1754 until 1763.  The war involved several European powers on either side, but the principle rivals were France and Britain.  Fighting took place in Europe, North America, India and Africa.  In North America Aboriginal nations participated in the fighting, allying themselves with one side or the other.

The Seven Years’ War was just part of a long series of conflicts between France and Britain that were fought in Europe and overseas.  In North America there had been regular conflict between the French and British colonies and various Aboriginal nations.  The center of French settlement was the colony of New France on the St. Lawrence River valley.  British settlements were located along the eastern seaboard.

The war ended in victory for the British, but that victory proved to be a Pyrrhic one.  The war was expensive for both Britain and France, as were the long series of intermittent hostilities that preceded it.  The drain on France’s treasury helped to trigger the French Revolution.  The British, for their part, sought to raise taxes in the colonies to cover the cost of the war.  Attempts to make the colonists pay taxes drew resistance from the colonies.  Anglo-American colonists had been used to ‘hands off’ rule from Britain.  Many reacted with anger when the faraway British government tried to tax them.  In addition, the defeat of France had removed the need for British protection.  Now colonists no longer felt the need to remain under British rule, especially if they were going to be subjected to what they considered to be unjust taxes and regulations.

The colonists’ resistance to British rules and taxation eventually culminated in the American Revolution.  American rebels, with the assistance of France, fought to gain their independence for Britain.  In 1783 the British gave up the fight and recognized American independence.

In what is now Canada, the British had gained control of former French holdings as a result of the French and Indian War.  In the colony formerly known as New France, the British found themselves administering

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>