The French And Indian War (1756-1763).
Between the years of 1689 and 1748 France and Britain had the War of the League of Augsburg "King William's War", War of Spanish Succession "Queen Anne's War", and the War of the Austrian Succession "King George's War." All three of these wars led up to the Seven Years War, also known as the French and Indian War. As the British colonies grew in population and wealth, the British government began to worry about the attacks from France and Spain. A French motive for attack on British was their desire for land. This was the time for claiming land and they wanted as much of it as they could get. Also they wanted more wealth and power because according to the theory of mercantilism, the richer you are, the more power you have. Another motive for their attack was that France wanted a market for manufactured goods. They also wanted a source for raw materials to make goods. At first the war went badly for the English. To strengthen the defense of the colonies, General Edward Braddock set out with 1400 British troops and 450 colonials to try to take Fort Duquesne. The French had built this fort in Pittsburgh. Braddock had been warned by Benjamin Franklin to watch out for surprise attacks by the Indians, but he did not listen. Wars in Europe were orderly and they were usually fought only in good weather, on open fields, and armies faced each other. To Braddock's surprise, the French and Indians did not follow the etiquette of Old World Warfare. They caught Braddock off guard when the attacked his army. The general was killed, and 976 of his men were killed or wounded. In 1757 William Pitt came to power as prime minister of England. He put new life into the nation's armies and its fleets spread over the globe. He removed the weak and the old and put in the young and strong. In the campaigns of 1758, the British and Americans working together were victorious against the French.