Door24 History

Between 1754 and 1763, the world saw its first global conflict known in America as the French and Indian War. France and Britain, mortal enemies, began fighting over the Ohio Valley—a vast area of land between the Mississippi River and the British held American colonies on the East Coast. Soon, Spain, Austria, Prussia, Sweden, and Russia entered the conflict. Fighting took place in North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. By 1763, after suffering numerous losses, France gave in. Under the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1763, France lost its North American possessions, including the Ohio Valley, to the British. However, Britain came out of the conflict financially drained. To win the war, Britain had borrowed huge sums of money and now was on the verge of bankruptcy. So it turned to its American colonies to finance the peace. The British Parliament passed tax after tax only to see the colonies reject each one with growing determination. In 1775, British soldiers and American colonists exchanged gunfire at