French and Indian War

Home » History Greatest People » French and Indian War

The name French and Indian War is used mainly in the United States and in English-speaking Canada and refers to the two main enemies of the British colonists: the royal French forces and the various indigenous forces allied with them.

British and European historians use the term the Seven Years’ War, as do many Canadians.

French Canadians call it La guerre de la Conquête (War of Conquest).

The war was fought primarily along the frontiers between New France and the British colonies, from Virginia in the South to Nova Scotia in the North.

It began with a dispute over control of the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, called the Forks of the Ohio, and the site of the French Fort Duquesne and present-day Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.









Then they closed in on Quebec, where Gen.


Since hostilities continued in other theaters for a few years, the French and Indian War, technically, didn’t end until 1763.

In the Treaty of Paris, France had to give England all of Canada and the eastern half of Louisiana. In exchange, they retained control of a few Caribbean sugar islands and two fishing islands along the Canadian coast. Spain gained control of the western half of the Louisiana Territory.

Spain also traded Florida in exchange for Cuba.

The results of the war effectively ended French political and cultural influence in North America. England gained massive amounts of land and vastly strengthened its hold on the continent.