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== What Triggered the French and Indian War? ==
At the same time, the European colonial governments tried to find ways to coexist with North America's original inhabitants, often making alliances with some tribes while alienating others. Sometimes, as in the French and Indian War (which in Europe was referred to as the Seven Years’ War), European politics regarding balances of power resulted in conflict in the colonies. As Europe's wars became more heated, fighting broke out between the French and the British in the American colonies. Both sides called upon Native American allies to assist them, exacerbating tensions between the tribes and tensions between the tribes and colonists. Ultimately, the British Government found it necessary to pour additional troops and resources into protecting its possessions in the Americas and taxed their colonists to pay for these resources. These taxes eventually became a rallying cry for the American independence movement.
The French and Indian War, the North American phase of the larger Seven Years’ War, began after a series of incidents in the upper Ohio River valley. The French and British governments both claimed it as their territory. Military forces assembled by both imperial powers built forts in the region and attempted to capture each others’ forts. These skirmishes, which included an expedition led by George Washington, ultimately led to the escalation of a broader, full-scale war between Great Britain and France.
