Prelude to War

The war that raged in North America through the late 1750's and early 1760's was but one part of the larger struggle between England and rance for dominance in world trade and na!al power" The #ritish !ictory in that struggle$ %nown in Europe as the &e!en 'ears' (ar $ ended the long struggle among the three principal powers in northeastern North America) The English$ the rench$ and the *ro+uois ,onfederacy$ it confirmed England's commercial supremacy and cemented its control of the settled regions of North America" The rench and the English had coe-isted relati!ely peacefully in North America for nearly a century" #ut by the 1750's$ as both English and rench settlements e-panded$ religious and commercial tensions began to produce new frictions and new conflicts" The rench had e-plored and claimed a !ast region of the continental interior$ ranging from .ouisiana in the &outh to the /reat .a%es in the North" To secure their hold on these enormous claims$ they founded a whole string of communities$ missions$ trading posts$ and fortresses" The region was enclosed by the four ma0or cities) 1ontreal$ 2etroit$ New 3rleans$ and 4uebec$ the center of the rench empire in North America" The English$ meanwhile$ were preparing for the great population leap across the Appalachians into 3hio and beyond" *n 1756 a group of 7irginian businessmen secured a grant of 500$000 acres of 3hio !alley land for settlement purposes" They were not impressed by 8oseph ,eleron who in the same year had claimed that region for rance" This prompted the rench$ in an effort to %eep the English from e-pansion into rench lands$ to construct new fortresses in the 3hio !alley" This$ in turn$ caused the English$ interpreting the

Col. George Washington of Virginia

rench acti!ity as a threat to their western settlements$ to begin ma%ing military preparations and building fortresses of their own" or the ne-t fi!e years$ tensions between the English and the rench increased$ until in the summer of 1755 the go!ernor of 7irginia sent a militia force 9under the command of an ine-perienced young colonel named /eorge (ashington: into the 3hio !alley to challenge rench e-pansion" (ashington built a crude stoc%ade 9 ort Necessity: and staged an unsuccessful attac% on a rench detachment" The rench countered with an assault on ort Necessity$ trapping (ashington and his soldiers inside" After a third of them died in the fighting$ (ashington surrendered" This clash mar%ed the beginning of the rench and *ndian (ar"