Lesson 2: Struggle for Empire

Lesson Focus

For decades, a global rivalry between Britain and France played out in North America. This lesson explores their final struggle for empire—the French and Indian War—a conflict that would decide control of the continent and the colonies' future.

People to Know

George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, William Pitt, James Wolfe

Learning Objectives

• Explain the causes of the French and Indian War and describe its key stages, from early conflicts to the final battles.
• Summarize the war's results, including the terms of the Treaty of Paris and its impact on North American territories.

Facing the growing French threat, delegates from seven colonies met in 1754 to discuss defense.
Benjamin Franklin proposed the Albany Plan of Union, which would create a Grand Council to levy taxes and raise troops for all colonies.
However, both the individual colonies and the British government rejected the plan because they feared losing power. This lack of cooperation weakened the initial British war effort and showed the colonies were not yet united.

The French and Indian War began when France built Fort Duquesne in the Ohio Valley to block British colonists from expanding westward.
In 1754, a Virginia militia led by a young George Washington was sent to challenge the French but was defeated. A larger British force was also defeated in 1755.
These early victories, led by the French commander Louis Montcalm, convinced many Native American groups to ally with France, giving them the advantage.

After several years of British defeats, William Pitt became Britain's war minister in 1758 and changed the country's strategy.
Pitt sent talented young officers and more military resources to North America, forcing France to divide its forces between Europe and America.
This new focus quickly reversed the course of the war. By the end of 1758, the British had captured key locations, including Fort Duquesne, putting them on a clear path to victory.

To end the war, British General James Wolfe devised a daring plan to capture the fortress city of Quebec in 1759.
His soldiers secretly scaled a steep cliff at night to reach an open field called the Plains of Abraham, surprising the French forces led by Louis Montcalm.
In the battle that followed, the British defeated the French. The fall of Quebec was the most important victory of the war, as it led to the collapse of the French empire in North America.

Great Britain's victory in the French and Indian War was made official with a peace agreement.
The Treaty of Paris, signed in 1763, forced France to give Britain all of Canada and its lands east of the Mississippi River. Spain received the Louisiana Territory from France.
As a result, France lost all of its territory on the North American mainland, which was now divided between Great Britain and Spain along the Mississippi River.