Native Americans lived in North America for thousands of years before the arrival of
Europeans. They lived in independent nations with their own territories and languages.
They had their own forms of government. They had feuds and alliances with other Native
American nations.
By the middle of the 1700s, both France and Great Britain had busy colonies in North
America. Britain had the thirteen colonies along the East Coast. They settled towns and
villages and cleared land for farming. The French claimed the land north and west of the
British colonies. The French were mostly trappers and traders. Because they did not claim
land for farming and were generally respectful, the French had comparatively good
relationships with many Native American nations.
How did British colonists differ from French colonists in the 1700s?