Why did the Americans and British win the "French and Indian War" against the Native Americans and French? Why did most Indians fight with the French? Why was France's influence in the New World so much less than that of the English and Spanish?

The Americans and British won the French and Indian War against the Native Americans and French because of previous events hindering certain parties fighting capabilities as well as the scrambling of unification between the colonists.  The Seven Years’ War was taking place at the same time, eventually merging with the French and Indian War, but also took place in Europe, the West Indies, the Philippines, in Africa, and on the sea.  Fortunately for the English colonies, the French had expended so much strength in their efforts over seas that they did not have a substantial amount of energy to put forth in the war in the New World.  The unity of the colonists was also an issue.  In the past even the Indians found it humorous of the colonies inability to come together.  It was not until the British government summoned an intercolonial congress to Albany, New York where all people agreed on the need for union.  The colonists were able to achieve a scrambled amount of unity in a very short period of time to their advantage against the French.  Not only were the colonists successful in their scramble for unity, but their scramble for leaders as well.

            The Indians fought with the French due to their previous relationship established through beaver trapping.  The French relationship was more with that of the Huron Indians whom they helped against their enemies, the Iroquois.  This forever consecrated a relationship of hate between the Iroquois and the French.  However French fur-trappers recruited Indians into the fur business.  Even though Indians suffered from white man’s diseases and fell to alcoholism, the French gave Indians opportunities and did not merely abuse them while stripping them of land and possession, unlike the colonists.  The colonists thus already having a shaky relationship with the Indians, the immediate purpose of the meeting at Albany was to persuade the Iroquois with gifts to keep them loyal to the British.

            France’s influence in the New World was so much less than that of the English and Spanish because the French had a late start in the rush to stake claims in the New World.  France was consumed by foreign wars and domestic strife a century before Columbus landed in America.  Too preoccupied by problems on the home front, France was unable to partake in the scramble for New World real estate until France reached stability and King Louis XIV took a deep interest in overseas colonies.  The interests of New France soon centered around the beaver.  The French established a lucrative fur trading business that became their main priority over land and colonization.  Instead their focus was that of recruiting Indians and establishing trading posts.

            The “French and Indian War,” which began in 1754, involved the French, Indians, colonists, and British.  The colonists and the British fought with each other against France and a majority of the Indians.  This war caused America to become more unified and for France to lose its influence in the New World. 

            Most of the Indians fought on the side of France because of a few reasons.  For example, the Indians were not pleased with the British colonists, who took their land and introduced deadly diseases to the Indian peoples.  The Indians did not mind the French since they usually came by themselves.  They were also usually only men, who did not need to use a large amount of land to have their family live on.    Also the French had many alliances with different Indian tribes.  Many Indians would assist the French on their search for beavers.  At that time, beaver fur was a very popular fashion accessory in Europe; it brought warmth to the person wearing it and it had an impressive look.  France then needed Indians to help them search for these animals.

            The Americans and British won the French and Indian War primarily because of America’s ability to unify, great leaders, and because of the war that France was also involved in. America was able to unify in a short amount of time.  They were able to obtain weapons to fight with and to help one another with the preparations.  In previous times colonials were not able to unify because of their differences.  These differences were because of the diverse ways of life throughout the colonies.    Another reason why the colonists and the British won is because of their great leaders.  William Pitt became one of the leaders in the French and Indian War just as the side of the British and of the colonists was in crisis because of their repeated losses to the French.  William Pitt was able to help the British and colonists to gain victory because of his excellent war strategies.  Since the French and Indian War was part of the Seven Years War, France and England were both in conflict in Europe.  France wasted much of their strength in the seven Years War, causing them to not be able to put as much effort into the French and Indian war as was necessary.  This allowed the Americans to have a chance, and in the end, to win.

            After the French and Indian War ended a peace settlement was held in Paris in 1763.  This settlement gave most of the land that the French previously owned in America to Spain and to England.  France only had a small amount of territory called French Haiti in America.  Since France did not have many people or established communities in America, they did not have a great influence on the New World. 

            The French and Indian War greatly influenced America in its later history.  This was one of the first examples of the colonies unifying to defeat a greater power.  Also it took the French out of America.            

The Americans and British won the French and Indian war for several reasons. The French and Indian War was the last of a series of global conflicts among the three European world powers: Britain, France and Spain. France had already lost significant territory to the British in earlier conflicts. During the war many French troops were fighting battles on European fronts and France couldn’t send a full force to the colonies. The only places with major French populations were their trading posts. For their part, the Americans and British had an intercolonial congress in Albany New York to cement unity among the colonies. Because of the need to join together Ben Franklin published his famous cartoon with the caption “Join, or Die.” They also bribed the Iroquois with gifts, including guns, to keep them loyal to the British. Americans were fighting in their own backyard and had more to gain from a victory.  The British strategically relocated French Arcadians from Nova Scotia to Louisiana so they couldn’t help the French. Lastly, due to the great leadership of William Pitt, the British were able to defeat Louisbourg and then to take Quebec.

            Most of the Indians fought with the French because they had been trading partners with them for many years. Together the French and Indians had nearly wiped out the beaver population of North America. Despite the diseases which Europeans brought across the Atlantic, the Indians seemed to have developed a close relationship with the French because they had built such a significant amount of trading posts. In fact many of the Indian tribes grew dependant upon European goods, including alcohol.

            France’s influence in the New World was considerably less substantial than that of England and Spain because France didn’t build colonies.  By building only trading posts, it was clear that their intentions were merely to trade, not to settle.  The French people did not see the need to move to a new land because they were already comfortably established in France. The French government did not allow the Huguenots to move, even though they might have had religious motives. In addition, the French government preferred its colonies in the Caribbean islands over its Canadian territories, partly because of weather, but mainly because of the abundance of sugar and rum in the tropical regions. In contrast, Britain and Spain set out to colonize the New World for both religious and economic reasons, and they built more permanent settlements in their colonies, which tended to be made up of people who intended to make the new land their home.  The Spaniards not only intermarried and/or produced offspring with the indigenous peoples, but they attempted to convert them to Christianity.  Aside from economic gain, religion was a large motivation for the Spaniards.  The British colonists came to the New World for religious and economic reasons, but also to settle their families and build a society which would “shine like a city upon a hill.”  Because their motivations were more ideological than economic, the British and Spanish had a much deeper influence upon the development of the New World.

A new fashion in Europe drove the trade for beaver fur in New France, resulting in many French fur trappers spreading out over much of North American searching for furs.  They used Indians to help them in their search for beaver furs.  This spread many of the “white men diseases” among the Indians.  Problems were also created when the fur trappers started sharing their alcohol with the Indians.   

          At the end of the 17^th century Spain, England and France were all involved in a war for world domination.  This war being the first, there has been nine world wars since 1688.  The Americans were included in each of theses wars.  King William’s War and Queen Anne’s War had British colonials fighting against the French and their Indian friends.  England was the victor in this war, and received Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and Hudson Bay as well as trading rights in Spanish America because of it.  King George’s war included the war of Austrian succession in Europe.   The battle with Spain in the Caribbean Sea was the French and Spanish united against England. Even though England won, the French remained having control over Louisiana. 

          The Ohio valley became an area sought after by both the British and the French.  The colonial Americans however, were determined to hang onto this land and maintain the economic security.  George Washington was a 21-year-old surveyor sent to Ohio country to be in charge of 150 Virginia militiamen, to help secure the area.  Washington won the first battle, but the French sent in more men and won, sending Washington back home defeated.  To protect Nova Scotia, the British sent French Arcadians to Louisiana.

          The fourth French and Indian war began in America with a battle involving George Washington.  It developed into the seven years war, which was fought in America, Europe, the Philippines, the West Indies, Africa and other oceans.  In 1754 the British government in Albany, New York had a purpose of achieving greater colony unity convened an intercolonial congress.  Benjamin Franklin was the leading man of the Albany congress.

          An English general Braddock sent to Virginia with troops to help in the French and Indian war and was lost to the Indians.  The victory of the Indians inspired them to rampage from Pennsylvania to North Carolina.  George Washington attempted to defend the frontier with a meager 300 men.

          William Pitt, from London, opposed the king’s politics against the colonies, but did not like the idea of complete independence.  Pitt sent troops to conquer Quebec, which evolved into the battle of Quebec in 1759.  Montreal fell to Britain in 1760 and gave their ally, Spain, trans Mississippi Louisiana as a payment for their support during the war.  The French power disappeared and England grabbed the reigns of power in North America.

            During the French and Indian war the thought that England was invincible disappeared while the colonists slowly began to gain unity.  Following the war relations between the British officers and the colonial officers quickly left.  Colonel George Washington was demoted to being a captain.  Other colonists in the trading industry continued to trade with Spain and the French West Indies against the British rule.  Unity was unreachable as many differences among the colonists remained due to religion, geography, different ethnicities, different governments, and differences between farmers, frontiersmen and city people.

The Advanced War
The French and Indian war, (or Seven Year’s War,) was a war unlike any other for its time.  It was fought on many different fronts across the globe.  British officials believed that the way to defeat the French was to attack their colonies in such places as the West Indies and North America.   In colonial America, the war was waged because of land-holdings in the Ohio River Valley in parts of the present-day United States and Canada.  The fight was between the allied British and Americans and the allied French and Indians.  The French and Indian War was one of the first wars in which allies were used for self-gain.  The war was fought, and ultimately lost by the Native-allied French.

The British and Americans essentially won the war because of a larger amount of vigor, and an unparalleled preparedness for the enemy, than the French.  The French, who were in the New World to trap furs, were quite unfamiliar with the terrain and geography.  The British and Americans, however, knew it quite well.  After some of the initial battles, which the French won, they did not fight in populous areas of the British Colonies.  Thus, they were forced to travel long distances, to areas with a limited food supply.  The British, however, had quite an abundance of resources, and used them to their advantage.  The French lost the war because of a weaker infantry of soldiers, a lack of supplies, and a lack of know-how. 

The Indians fought on the French side of the army because of their knowledge of the land.  The French were unaware of the terrain of the American soil; however, the Indians were very familiar with it.  The French bribed the Indians with some of their fur trading prospects.  The Indians assisted the French in their scalping and trading needs.  The French enjoyed this, because they were able to do half of the labor, and live a more leisurely lifestyle.  The Indians did much of the labor, as well as fought for the French.

The French were the latecomers in all imperialistic endeavors in the lucrative New World colonies.  Because of foreign wars and domestic hardships, the French were unable to take such a large undertaking.  The British and Spanish, however, were much better equipped than the French because they had been in the New World long enough to establish themselves.  They were much more centralized and organized than the French.  The French were interested in fur trapping, rather than establishing government.  They were not concerned, however, with colonization.

The French and Indian War was one of the most advanced and difficult fought wars of the time.  It was influential across the globe, and allied countries and groups of people together through war alliances.  This war also added land to the already expanding British/American Empire.  It was quite a welcomed addition.