Definition essay on core concepts and meanings

French and Indian War

The Seven Years War

The Last of the Mohicans is an 1826 novel by James Fenimore Cooper that revolves around the historical conflict between France and its allies, and Great Britain, as part of the North American theater of the Seven Years War, also referred to as the French and Indian War. The Seven Years War can be considered to be one of the first wars fought on a global scale and its outcome forever changed the global landscape in terms of national claims on land and territories, and helped to influence the American Revolution.

The Seven Years War was a conflict involving Austria, Great Britain, France, Spain, Prussia, and Sweden that took place over three continents: Europe, North America, and India (Asia) from 1756 to 1763 ("The French & Indian War"). In Europe, France, Sweden, and Austria allied against Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, while Great Britain and France found themselves pitted against each other in North America, the Caribbean, and India ("The French & Indian War"). The North American conflict between Great Britain and France is one of the focuses of the Last of the Mohicans.

In North America, the tensions between Great Britain and France had been escalating since 1689, and when the colonist population in North America exploded, increasing from 250,000 in 1700 to 1.25 million by 1750, clashes between the two counties increased. This population spike allowed the British to increase revenues through the exportation of hemp, copper, tar, and turpentine exclusively to Great Britain ("The French & Indian War"). It was also during this time that Great Britain deliberately interfered with French commerce by imposing a tax on each gallon of molasses imported from non-British colonies in 1733, thus deterring colonist's and Britons' desires to purchase these types of items ("The French & Indian War").

These small conflicts and skirmishes eventually resulted in more forceful interactions and attacks on the French, especially in the upper Ohio Valley where territorial claim was heavily disputed. In 1754, Anglo-American colonists led by George Washington attempted to expel the French from the upper Ohio Valley, however, Washington was defeated but the defeat captured the attention of British Prime Minister Thomas Pelham-Holles, Duke of Newcastle, who called for a retaliatory strike ("Milestones: 1750-1775"). Eventually, General Edward Braddock was sent to North America but he failed to make alliances with Native Americans and colonial leaders failed to cooperate ("Milestones: 1750-1775"). General Braddock died in a failed attack to capture Ft. Duquesne and the conflict in North America was at a stalemate for the next years, but in 1757, war began to turn in favor of the British as they defeated the French in India, and in 1759, they invaded and conquered Canada ("Milestones: 1750-1775").

Eventually, the conflicts between Prussia and Great Britain and France, Sweden, and Austria came to a close through various treaties including the Treaty of Paris, which forced the French to give up claims to Canada, Louisiana was handed to Spain, and Spanish Florida, Upper Canada, and various French holdings overseas ("The Seven Years War Begins").