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Period: to
France & Britain Clash
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The Iroquois Confederacy
The most powerful group of Native Americans were the Iroquois, based in the New York area. The Confederacy includeed five tribes: the Mohawk, Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, and Oneida. The Tuscarora joined in 1722. They called them the Six Nations. In mid 1700s, the British moved into the Ohio Valley, which put the Native Americans under pressure. Eventually, the British received trading rights and became their allies. When they took this step, the Iroquois upset a French/British balance of power. -
Native Americans Take Sides
Both the French and the British knew that if they had some assistance from the Native Americans, they could win some control over North America. The French were very interested in fur trading. They didn't want to take over Native American land. Many French traders married Native American women and followed their customs. Then the French missionaries decided to convert many Native Americans to Catholicism. For these reasons, Native Americans often helped the French and raided the British. -
Pickawillany
During the 1740s, anger increased with the British and the French. People who were British fur traders built a fort at a place called Pickawillany. The French quickly attacked the British at Pickawillany and drove the fur traders out of Ohio. Then, the French began attacking towns in Maine and New York. Next, New Englanders captured an important French fortress at Louisbourg. Much to the disgust of the New Englanders, Britain rightfully returned Louisbourg to France. -
American Colonists Take Action
In the fall of 1753, the governor of Virginia sent George Washington into the Ohio country. Washington was only 21 years old. The mission was for him to tell the French that they were trespassing on Great Britain's land and to demand that they leave. The French told him that it was their absolute design to take possession of Ohio. -
Washington's First Command
In the spring of 1754, Washington became a lieutenant colonel.Then he went back to Ohio with a militia of 150 men. The militia had instructions to build a fort by present-day Pittsburgh. He and his troops arrived to find the French building Fort Duquesne. Next, he established a small post nearby, called Fort Necessity. Washington attacked a French force. He was forced to surrender. However, the colonists rewarded him as a hero. -
The Albany Plan of Union
Representatives from several colonies met in New York to discuss the threat of war. They wanted a way to defend themselves from the French and to persuade the Iroquois to support the British. So, they created the Albany Plan of Union, drawn by Benjamin Franklin, which did not help them. No colony wanted to give up its power. Soon, a full-scale war erupted. -
Washington's Diary Entry
American Diary
In 1754 a small force of colonial soldiers, led by a young George Washington, fought the French in what is today western Pennsylvania. Washington later stated that the French :'kept up a constant...fire upon us; which was returned [until]... the most tremendous rain...filled our trenches with Water, [and] Wet...the Ammunition...in a small temporary [post] ...called Fort Necessity ...and left us nothing but a few.. .Bayonets for defense." -quoted in An Eyewitness History
