The start of the French and Indian War began with a feud between the French and the British in the upper Ohio River Valley. The British believed the land to be theirs, therefore reasoning that they could trade and settle in the area. However the French considered it to be a part of the French Empire, this led to a conflict between the two nations. Nonetheless the heart of this feud was based on a bigger issue in North America; it was not just about one peice of land. This feud would decide the isue of which powerful culture would dominate North America once and for all, because neither nation would settle for less.

 

        Both the British and the French considered the land to be theirs due to territorial claims made by early explorers. The Brtish mostly rested their claims upon the exploration of John Cabot during the 15th century, who had taken possession of the land for King Henry and explored some of the area. In the late 16th century and early 17th century, the English royal charter granted land in North America to various companies. Land was given to the Virginia Company and Plymouth Company, and the province of Carolina was created south of Virgina. To the English, the lands south of French Canada and north of Spanish Florida were owned by them. This conflicted with France's claims based upon the explorations of René-Robert Cavelier, sieur de la Salle. In 1682 he declared the Mississippi Valley, which included the Ohio Valley, to be in possession of the French. 

 

        During the early years of colonization, the French settled to the north in Canada while the English gradually settled along the Atlantic seaboard. Over time the colonies of both nations flourished and expansion set in. British settlements slowly spread west of the Appalachians to the upper Ohio Valley, while the French expanded south into the Great Lakes area. Leading into the 1750s the feud between the two nations began to take shape after the inevitable happened, they grew too much and got in each others way.