The French and Indian War broke out in 1754 and lasted until 1763 and was an imperial war between Britain and France over control of the Ohio territory. The French and British rushed into the region to build forts and establish a military presence in order to solidify their colonial claims on the area. A young George Washington, at only 21 years of age, was sent on behalf of the Virginia colony to build a fort at the forks of the Ohio river in what is modern-day Pittsburgh. When Washington and his small force of Virginians and Native American allies attacked a French reconnaissance party, the French counterattacked and drove them out of their fort and back into Virginia. The skirmish led to an outright declaration of hostilities.
French and Indian War
The war pitted the British colonists and their Native American allies against the French colonists and their Native American allies. Though the French gained the advantage in the early years of the war, the British ultimately triumphed, and in the Treaty of Paris, signed in 1763, France surrendered nearly all of its claims to North American territory. The Native American tribes of the region rejected the notion that France had the authority to cede their lands to the British.
Moreover, the Seven Years’ War heightened tensions between the British and its North American colonies; once the French were removed from the region, a variety of other issues arose, including disagreements over westward expansion, taxation, and relations with the native tribes.
