The origins of the French and Indian War lay in conflicting British and French claims, particularly in the Ohio Valley and Nova Scotia. The war began in the Ohio Valley in 1754 but soon spread to the rest of North

Engraving of British ships surrounding the walled city of Louisbourg, Cape Breton Island, Canada, during the siege of 1758. GETTY IMAGES

America and eventually became a global war, known in Europe as the Seven Years' War.

Causes and Course of the War

The early years of the war went badly for the British. In 1755, a British army was routed at the Battle of the Monongahela and in the following year the British surrendered the important fort of Oswego on Lake Ontario. Meanwhile, Indian raiders devastated the colonial frontier. In 1757, the French captured Fort William Henry and there were fears of a French...