1754 - 1763 French and Indian War (jan 31, 1753 – jan 6, 1763)

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This war was motivated by the French, Native and British wish to gain control over the Ohio River Valley, which was one of the richest and most fertile lands in North America.
The French, to secure the land, established some forts in current day Pennsylvania.
In 1753, the Virginia Governor sent young George Washington to the French forts to try and warn them to leave. However, his attempt at diplomacy failed which further strengthened the tension.
In 1754, George Washington led a group of soldiers and natives to establish a fort in Pittsburgh, which was a strategic location since it was a convergence of three major rivers, which were useful for transportation of goods and human cargo. However, the French had already established their own fort there. Therefore, Washington’s men ambushed the French killing several soldiers; this marked the first bloodshed of the war.
In 1754, the British established Fort Necessity with George Washington’s men; however, they were later attacked by the French and George and his men had to surrender.
This is when in 1755, the British government decided they needed to interfere, so they sent General Edward Baddock, who ended up suffering a crushing defeat against the French and Natives, as he wasn’t used to the wilderness warfare of North America.
The war later ended up involving most European powers as the struggle to assert dominance between France and Britain continued. The French initially had the upper hand with their alliances with Natives, however, Britain ended up winning the upper hand as it collected more resources and reinforcement.
The war ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1763, in which the French ended up giving up their territories in North America to Britain. But, even though Britain gained more territory and became more powerful in the eyes of Europe, it also planted a huge seed of resentment in North America which would later arise as the American Revolution.

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