French and Indian Wars The French and Indian Wars is a name used in the United States for a series of intermittent conflicts between the years 1689 and 1763 in North America that represented colonial events related to the European dynastic wars . The title " French and Indian War " , in the singular , is used in the United States specifically for the warfare of 1754 – 1763 , the North American colonial counterpart to the Seven Years ' War in Europe . The French and Indian Wars were preceded by the Beaver Wars . In Quebec , Canada , a former French colony , the wars are generally referred to as the Intercolonial Wars . While some conflicts involved Spanish and Dutch forces , all pitted the Kingdom of Great Britain , its colonies and Native American allies on one side against France , its colonies and Native American allies on the other . A major cause of the wars was the desire of each country to take control of the interior territories of North America , as well as the region around Hudson Bay ; both were deemed essential to domination of the fur trade . Whenever the European countries went to war , military conflict also occurred in North America in their colonies , although the dates of the conflicts did not necessarily exactly coincide with those of the larger conflicts . The North American wars , and their associated European wars , in sequence , are : The naming of conflicts after the British monarch of the day is a convention in United States history related to its early European settlement as majority - English colonies . Canadian convention uses the name of the larger European conflict ( e . g . the " War of the Grand Alliance " rather than " King William ' s War " ) or refers to the wars as the Intercolonial Wars . As the wars proceeded , the military advantage moved toward the British side . This was chiefly the result of the greater population and productive capacity of the British colonies , compared with those of France . In addition , the British had the greater ability to resupply their colonies and project military power by sea . In the first three conflicts , the French were able to offset these factors largely by more effective mobilization of Native American allies , but they were finally overwhelmed in the fourth and last war . The overwhelming victory of the British played a role in eventual loss of their thirteen American colonies . Without the threat of French invasion , the American colonies saw little need for British military protection . In addition , the people resented British efforts to limit their colonization of the new French territories to the west of the Appalachian Mountains , as stated in the Proclamation of 1763 , in an effort to relieve encroachment on Native American territory . These pressures contributed to the American Revolutionary War . The first three of the French and Indian Wars followed the same basic pattern : they all started in Europe and then moved to North America . Once the conflict broke out in North America , it was mostly fought by colonial militias . The final conflict broke this pattern by beginning in North America . In addition , the British used more regular troops alongside colonial militia . They returned almost none of the French territory seized during the war . France was forced to cede its extensive territory in present - day Canada and " Louisiane " . The British victory in the French and Indian Wars reduced France ' s New World empire to St . Pierre and Miquelon , two islands off Newfoundland ; a few West Indian islands ; and French Guiana . See also . Further Reading :