Britain and France both owned and controlled land in North America in the middle of the 1700’s. They both wanted to increase the area they controlled, and were afraid that the other would control more. British settlers pushed into land in the  Ohio River Valley, which was claimed by the French.

Competing Empires

French and Indian War Begins

In 1753 the French were building forts to reclaim the land between Lake Erie and the Ohio River. The Virginia colony decided to send soldiers to the area to make the French leave.  The French rejected the first warning, so a year later they went back to build a fort. The French had already built Fort Duquesne. The French invaded Washington’s fort and forced them to go back to Virginia.

The Albany Congress

The colonies met together to form a plan to defend themselves.(The Albany Congress)  Ben Franklin made a plan that the council would control taxes and armies, but the colonial assemblies rejected it.

Early British Defeats

General Edward Braddock is sent to Virginia to capture Fort Duquesne in 1755. George Washington was with him as a volunteer.

Disaster at Ft. Duquesne

General Braddock wasn’t familiar with the fighting conditions in North America and he didn’t listen to the colonial soldiers. They were ambushed by the French and Native Americans and more than half of the soldiers were killed or wounded, including Braddock.

More British Defeats

In 1755 the British had two more defeats which further encouraged the Iroquois’s decision not to ally with Britain. The British declared war in 1756.

The British Turn the Tide

In 1758 Britain captured the fort at Louisbourg, and in the fall they took Fort Duquesne. The battle and British capture of Quebec was the turning point of the French and Indian war.