Impact of the British Victory in the Indian French War Essay

A war transpired between Britain and France, which lasted from the year 1756 to the year 1763. This war, which was termed as the French and Indian War, was fought over colonial possessions in the North American Continent. It was fought between the American colonists and the British on one side and the French and the American Indians on the other. The incident that initiated this war was the deployment of troops under Washington by the Virginian Governor, to dispute the Ohio valley French expansion (French and Indian War , 2005). This war was part of the larger struggle to attain colonial supremacy and in this struggle between the European colonizers, Britain obtained control of India and several French colonies. In this process Britain obtained Florida from Spain instead of Cuba. This period of strife ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1763, by Britain, France and Spain. Britain was the major beneficiary and obtained control over Canada, Florida and a number of Caribbean islands (Seven Years’ War , 2005). Initially the war efforts in America were not accorded much significance by the rulers in Britain. However, in 1757, William Pitt or Pitt the Elder, the then secretary of state and virtual prime minister, realized the fact that this skirmish had the capacity to obtain global domination for the British. Accordingly, Britain borrowed heavily and adopted a number of stratagems like paying Prussia to fight on its behalf in Europe and reimbursing the American colonists. In July 1758, the British emerged victorious at Louisbourg, in the month of August in the same year, they captured Fort Frontenac. In September 1759, a great victory was achieved against the French on the Plains of Abraham. The French were soundly and completely routed in Canada with the capture of Montreal by the British in September 1760. Due to the Paris Peace Treaty Britain obtained Canada and Florida and the American colonies became much stronger after this war, due to the removal of their European colonial rivals (SEVEN YEARS’ WAR , 1991). Vast and far reaching changes were wrought by the victory in this war. Some of these were that Britain’s presence in the New World became significantly larger. However, Britain incurred a very heavy monetary debt in achieving this victory. The leaders in England developed deep resentment towards the colonists, because the latter had not provided adequate financial and military help to the former. Consequently, Britain decided to enhance their control over the American colonies and to drastically reduce the extant decentralization. This resulted in severe dissatisfaction on the part of the American colonists towards the British. A major benefit that accrued from this war was that the colonists realized that their real enemy was Britain and not each other. They also realized that if they became one, then they were a truly redoubtable foe to contend with. This confidence coupled with the unjust and repressive policies of the British resulted in the American Revolution. In this manner a war that was fought between Britain and France to curb the latter’s expansionist ambitions led to the obtention of independence of the American Colonies from the British (Mooy, 2003). References French and Indian War . (2005). Retrieved September 5, 2007, from The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia including Atlas: http://www.credoreference. com/entry/6427767 Mooy, A. (2003, June 3). French and Indian Wars. Retrieved September 5, 2007, from From Revolution to Reconstruction : http://www. let. rug. nl/usa/E/7yearswar/fiwxx. htm Seven Years’ War . (2005). Retrieved September 5, 2007, from The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia including Atlas: http://www. credoreference. com/entry/6465088Seven Years’ War SEVEN YEARS’ WAR . (1991). Retrieved September 5, 2007, from The Reader’s Companion to American History: http://www. credoreference. com/entry/5868885