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Seeds of Revolution

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The French and Indian War The deadly skirmish took place at a remote spot dubbed Jumonville Glen, about 40 miles south of present-day Pittsburgh. The clash came about because of a simmering dispute over the “Ohio Country.” That region lay to the west of the British colonies of Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylva- nia. Great Britain claimed the Ohio Country, and colonists from Virginia were determined to settle it. But there was a problem. France also claimed the Ohio Country. According to the French, the region was part of New France, a vast colonial territory that covered much of the interior of North America. New France extended from Canada in the north to the Gulf of Mexico in the south. The encounter at Jumonville Glen involved fewer than 100 men in all. But it ignited a major conflict. British colonists called it the French and Indian War. Many thousands of British regular soldiers were sent to North America, as Great Britain moved to eliminate the French threat to its 13 mainland colonies. France responded in kind. Colonial militias fought alongside the regiments of regular soldiers. Each side also had Indian allies. By 1756, the fighting in North America pushed Great Britain and France to declare war on each other directly. The Seven Years’ War, as the expanded conflict came to be called, had far-flung battlefields in Europe, South America, Asia, and Africa. British forces eventually triumphed. The war officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris on February 10, 1763. By the terms of the treaty, France gave up its claims to all territory in North America east of the Mississippi River. That vast area was now recognized as belonging to the king of Great Britain. France also ceded Canada to Great Britain. By all appearances, Great Britain had secured a tremendous victory. Its overseas empire had greatly expanded. With the French threat elimi- nated, the 13 North American colonies seemed on the cusp of a new era