Motivations of the French and Indian War and Amerindian roles

¶ … motivations of the French and Indian War and the role the American Indians played in that conflict

Ostensibly, the French and Indian War (1754-1763) was primarily a war about territory. The British and French were in dispute over a specific patch of land in the Ohio Valley, which had been originally claimed by the French, then was abandoned in the face of native hostility and was now claimed by a British company. However, the conflict spiraled into something much greater. Eventually, it would pit the two countries against one another in a struggle of who would control the territories of the New World, who would determine its religious ideology, its economic makeup (trade with the natives vs. agriculture), and finally which alliances with the native populace would prove more powerful and durable.

In contrast to the English, the French had largely amicable relations with the Indians when they first arrived. The Indians generally welcomed the French, "who wanted nothing from them but furs and a plot of land on which to build their posts." Many Frenchmen developed close, even familial relationships with Indians, and created a large 'half breed' population, further cementing their alliances with the tribes through intermarriage and blood. Then, during the 1750's competition between English and French settlers in the Ohio River Valley increased. The first, instigating cause of the war was precipitated by the march of the French explorer Celeron into Ohio, who claimed the land for his king though he "received a hostile reception" from the natives of the area who treated Celeron as a hostile interloper.

Although the British did have strong alliances with some tribes, most notably the Indian tribes known as the Five Nations, the members of the Iroquois League, the Iroquois remained an exception. From Indian perspectives, the French had shown more respect for their culture, not engaged in nearly as much land-grabbing, and had also provided them with valuable material goods, such as hatchets and brass kettles. Thus, despite Celeron's hostile reception, most Indian tribes allied with the French. The Puritan and English settlers viewed the Native American population with hostility, and the Jesuit influence upon the native tribes confirmed in their view that both the French desire for trade and land in the New World and their greater familiarity with the Indians was "satanic." Fears of French-Catholic influence amongst the settlers combined with the growing dislike of the Indians on the part of the English further inflamed tensions between the two groups.

This is why the title the "French and Indian War" is the name commonly applied to the "Seven Years War" when conflict actually began in 1754 because of the great influence of the native alliances in fighting the war, the last hurrah of Native American might. The strength of their allied tribes was used as a political bargaining chip and a military mark of terror by both sides. In particular, although fewer tribes were aligned with their sides, the English colonies exaggerated the Iroquois military predominance over other tribes to defend and establish British control over the region. Yet even many Englishmen privately criticized these same Indians as being disobedient, and unreliable, as well as predominantly known for their skill in war only because of their possession of English weaponry and goods.