Rival European Powers Exploring North America

The primary rival powers contesting North America were:

France vs. Great Britain (England pre-1707)

• France: New France (Quebec, Great Lakes, Mississippi Valley to Gulf)—fur trade, missionary, military alliances with Indigenous nations
• Great Britain: Thirteen Colonies (Atlantic seaboard), Hudson's Bay Company (Rupert's Land), naval supremacy

Conflict Sequence

1. King William's War (1688-97)
2. Queen Anne's War (1702-13)
3. King George's War (1744-48)
4. French & Indian War / Seven Years' War (1754-63): Decisive—France ceded Canada & Louisiana east of Mississippi to Britain

Other Players

• Spain: Florida, Southwest, California—late entry, weaker northward
• Netherlands: New Netherland (NY) — lost to England 1664
• Russia: Alaska, Pacific NW — late, fur-focused

Anglo-French rivalry defined colonial borders, Indigenous diplomacy, and set stage for American Revolution.