The French and Indian War settled the question of: which country controlled the North American continent which country could build forts along with Great Lakes which country could legally trade with the Indians which country could legally trade with the colonies

The French and Indian War settled the question of which country controlled the North American continent between Great Britain and France.

At the beginning of the 18th century, the population of the British colonies in North America did not exceed 250,000 inhabitants, which is a very small number compared to the eight million inhabitants in Spanish South America, although throughout the first Half of that century the population increased rapidly thanks to the massive arrival of Europeans (especially Scots) and African slaves (it is estimated that more than 250,000 slaves arrived in those years). This pushed the British colonies, which until then were limited to the coastal strip, needed to expand. The colony of Georgia was created to the south, bordering on Spanish Florida.

The French had also settled in North America although their domains there were not fully consolidated as they were too large for a population of about 70,000 inhabitants. Despite this, they managed to expand, occupying all of Quebec, the Great Lakes, and reaching Louisiana, thus creating a barrier that prevented British expansion to the north and west. All this territory was controlled through a large number of forts distributed in the border areas and with few cities.

Both colonial empires, therefore, collided in the vast region that comprised from the Appalachian Mountains to the Mississippi River and from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. The zone of greater conflict was the Ohio Valley, a region to the south of Great Lakes that included great part of the present states of Ohio, Pensilvania and West Virginia. This territory was gradually occupied by the French at the beginning of the 1750s through the construction of several forts.

During the war, France lost control over all of its Canadian possessions, which was ratified by the Treaty of Paris. It lost all his colonies east of the Mississippi, except Saint Pierre and Miquelon, two islands near Newfoundland. In the Caribbean, it only maintained the islands of Guadalupe and Martinique.

Great Britain had been, clearly the great winner of the conflict, managing to dominate the entire east coast of North America and eliminating a rival colonial empire that prevented it from expanding into the interior. It also gained importance in the Caribbean waters thanks to the numerous places won to the French.