The colonial wars. The first three of the four wars between the French and English colonists broke out in Europe before spreading to America. These wars in America were King William's War (1689-1697), Queen Anne's War (1702-1713), and King George's War (1743-1748). Only after the second war did either side gain territory. In 1713, under the Treaty of Utrecht, France gave Britain Newfoundland, the Nova Scotia region of Acadia, and the Hudson Bay territory.

The fourth war began in the Ohio River Valley in 1754 and lasted until 1763. It spread to Europe in 1756 and became known as the Seven Years' War there and in Canada. The conflict, which is called the French and Indian War in the United States, marked the final chapter in the struggle between the French and British colonists in America. The British had a number of advantages during the war. For example, there were more than a million British colonists compared with about 65,000 French settlers. The British colonies also received greater military support from Britain than New France did from France. In addition, the British had the help of the Iroquois, the strongest Indian group in the east.

The French did well at first, but the tide of battle slowly turned against them. British armies, backed by the British Royal Navy, captured Quebec City in 1759. Both opposing generals, the Marquis de Montcalm of France and James Wolfe of Britain, were fatally wounded in the battle. The British seized Montreal in 1760, and the fighting in America ended. In the Peace of Paris, signed in 1763, France surrendered most of New France to Britain.