setting the stage for war (1753-1754)
1. french controlled great lakes region and mississippi valley
2. french had built posts along st. lawrence and throughout the great lakes: frontenac, toronto, niagara, detroit, michilimackinac, greenbay, chicago were all key french forts…..
3. english were starting to encroach on french trade, especially in ohio valley and ohio proper
4. so, the french decided to start a chain of forts to keep the hated english out: Presqui’le on lake erie; fort mauchault south of that; DUQUESNE was built at the source of the Ohio River (at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers). This last fort guarded access to the Ohio River
5. Virginia (english colony) claimed that same area….Governor of Virginia sent a message to the French at Duquesne…this message was carried by young George Washington, who was familiar with that entire region. Washington too along a band of Virginians…..
6. What Washington did out there in the wilderness set in motion a chain of events which ignited a global war……
