The French and Indian Wars is a name used in the United States for a series of conflicts lasting 74 years in North America that represented colonial events related to the European dynastic wars. The title, French and Indian War, is used in the US specifically for the warfare of 1754–1763, the 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 American Indian allies on one side against France, its colonies and Indian allies on the other. The expanding French and British colonies were contending for control of the western, or interior, territories of North America. 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.
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