The French and Indian War

The French and Indian war was a battle between the British the French, and various Native American nations. The war was a part of the seven year war between the British and the French. The French and Indian War started on American Soil and ended in Europe where the French were fighting the British. The origins of the war was mainly because of the both countries were trying to expand there fur trading operations.

The Native American people from the Algonquin, Lenape, Wyandot, Ojibwa, Ottawa, Shawnee, and the Mi’kmaq sided with the French. The British were supported by the Iroquois Confederacy.

In 1754, George Washington at the age of 21 was sent to negotiate a land agreement which sparked a battle and the war began at Fort Duquesne, now day Pittsburgh. The war continued for almost nine years ending in 1762 in Montreal when the French surrendered. The war officially ended on February 10, 1763 with the signing of the Treaty of Paris, the French lost all of their North American possessions east of the Mississippi River. The British gained control of Canada and the Americans received the French’s land and other possessions.

The significance for Native peoples was that they were being asked to choose a side and then having to fight each other.