Question

“Today, two hundred and fifty years after the French and Indian War, most Americans are no more familiar with its events and significance than they are with those of the Peloponnesian War. Few know that George Washington struck the first spark of a war that set the British North American frontier ablaze from the Carolinas to Nova Scotia, then spread to Europe, Canada, the Caribbean, West Africa, India, and, finally, the Philippines. Historians call this immense conflict the Seven Years’ War; . . . Winston Churchill described it as ‘the first world war.’”

Fred Anderson, The War That Made America: A Short History of the French and Indian War, 2005

1.Which of the following best explains a result of the Seven Years’ War (French and Indian War) ?


France sold the Louisiana Territory to Great Britain.

Option A,France sold the Louisiana Territory to Great Britain.

a

Great Britain gained a claim to land extending to the Mississippi River.

Option B,Great Britain gained a claim to land extending to the Mississippi River.

b

Great Britain and Spain established an alliance.

Option C,Great Britain and Spain established an alliance.

c

British influence over its North American colonies decreased.

Option D,British influence over its North American colonies decreased.

d

Britain’s victory in the Seven Years’ War (French and Indian War) had which of the following economic consequences for its American colonies?


The British government granted certain American colonists a monopoly on the fur trade without French competition.

Option A,The British government granted certain American colonists a monopoly on the fur trade without French competition.

a

The British government paid for the construction of canals to encourage trade between the Great Lakes region and the East Coast.

Option B,The British government paid for the construction of canals to encourage trade between the Great Lakes region and the East Coast.

b

The British government increased taxation of colonial goods to help pay off the debt created by the war.

Option C,The British government increased taxation of colonial goods to help pay off the debt created by the war.

c

The British government forced American merchants to supply the British Royal Navy without payment.

Option D,The British government forced American merchants to supply the British Royal Navy without payment.

d

The conclusion of the Seven Years’ War (French and Indian War) had which of the following effects on Native American societies?


Native Americans allied with Great Britain gained the right to become British citizens, angering the colonists.

Option A,Native Americans allied with Great Britain gained the right to become British citizens, angering the colonists.

a

British and French officials agreed to force Native Americans to move to reservations west of the Mississippi River.

Option B,British and French officials agreed to force Native Americans to move to reservations west of the Mississippi River.

b

Native Americans gained control of all of the western fur trade with British colonists.

Option C,Native Americans gained control of all of the western fur trade with British colonists.

c

The British government attempted to restrict western settlement to reduce tensions between colonists and Native Americans.

Option D,The British government attempted to restrict western settlement to reduce tensions between colonists and Native Americans.

d

Answer 1

1) B — Great Britain gained a claim to land extending to the Mississippi River.
Explanation: By the 1763 Treaty of Paris Britain acquired French Canada and lands east of the Mississippi (France ceded Louisiana west of the Mississippi to Spain).

2) C — The British government increased taxation of colonial goods to help pay off the debt created by the war.
Explanation: Britain raised revenues from the colonies after the war (Sugar Act, Stamp Act, etc.) to help pay war debts and for imperial defense.

3) D — The British government attempted to restrict western settlement to reduce tensions between colonists and Native Americans.
Explanation: The 1763 Royal Proclamation barred colonial settlement west of the Appalachians to limit conflict with Native Americans.