By Marybeth Horton

Competing Empires

Native Americans lived on most of the territory 

claimed by French & Britain. 1740s, British settlers were 

pushing into the Ohio River valley lands claimed by the French.

French and Indian War Begins

The governor of Virginia decided to send soldiers to order the French to leave. George Washington was one of them, and he was 21 years-old.

More British Defeats

Further east, an army of British colonists & Native Americans was ambushed & suffered heavy losses near Lake George. May 1756, Britain declared war on France, marking the official beginning of the 7 Years’ War between the 2 countries.

The British Turn the Tide

During 1757, Britain when William Pitt became a prime minister. Summer of 1758, Britain scored its first major victory in the war. They captured the fort at Louisbourg.