England and France both had extensive land claims in North America. Both countries claimed the Ohio Valley territory as their own. In the 1750's, the French sent troops to occupy the Ohio Valley. They built several forts west of the Appalachians to show that they planned to remain in the Ohio Valley to protect their land. One of the most famous forts was called Fort Dunesque. A young George Washington, a Colonel in the British Army, led 150 militiamen to capture Fort Dunesque. Washington and his men were outnumbered and soon defeated by the French. The French sent Washington and his men back to British commanders with a message that the Ohio Valley belonged to the French. The British did not give up easily. They returned to Fort Dunesque with more troops. The British, as was their custom, marched in straight lines with much noise and fanfare. The French and their Indian allies hid behind rocks and trees. They fired on the British troops from their hiding places. The British were again defeated. The British did have some assistance from Native American groups. However, this assistance was not enough to help them defeat the French right away. The British continued to fight the French, but mostly to the north, in Canada. The French were finally defeated and signed the Treaty of Paris in 1763. In this treaty, the French surrendered all of their land claims in North America.
The French and Indian War helped me imagine the very first spark of the American Revolution. As we already know, the British were now in debt from this war, and they depended on the colonists to pay that debt, as we will discuss later on.
Discussion and Read-aloud on the next module.
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