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By the 1600s, the French had built settlements in eastern Canada. They also claimed lands further west. Their lands in North America were called New France. In 1669, a French trader named La Salle explored the Ohio River. He claimed the whole river basin for France.
Great Britain also had claims in North America. From 1607 to 1733, the British established colonies near the East Coast. Some colonies crossed the Appalachians.
Both the French and British wanted the Ohio Country. In 1749, the French sent Céloron de Blainville. He tried to make clear the French claim and to get the British to leave. The British asked Christopher Gist to survey the Ohio Country, meaning to measure it out. They wanted to sell land to colonists.
The conflict soon involved soldiers. In 1752, the French attacked British traders at Pickawillany. Then they built a chain of forts along the eastern border of the Ohio Country.
The governor of Virginia sent a young general named George Washington to protect a small British trading post. Before Washington arrived, the French took over the post and built Fort Duquesne. The French and their Native American allies defeated Washington. The French and Indian Wars had begun.
In 1758, the British again attacked Fort Duquesne. This time they won control as the French fled. Later, other French forts fell to the British, including Quebec in Canada. The French had no hope for victory.
France and Britain signed the Treaty of Paris, an agreement that gave all of New France to the British. Some Native Americans, however, continued to fight. Pontiac was their leader.
British leaders thought they could keep the peace by keeping colonists away from the Ohio frontier. They passed laws to do this. Nevertheless, many people moved anyway. They were called squatters, meaning they lived on land without permission and without paying for it.
Soon, thousands of squatters lived on the Ohio frontier. Angry Native Americans fought the squatters, and many squatters fought back. |
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