<P> The French and Indian War ( 1754 -- 63 ) comprised the North American theater of the worldwide Seven Years ' War of 1756 -- 63 . It pitted the colonies of British America against those of New France . Both sides were supported by military units from their parent countries of Great Britain and France , as well as by American Indian allies . At the start of the war , the French North American colonies had a population of roughly 60,000 settlers , compared with 2 million in the British North American colonies . The outnumbered French particularly depended on the Indians . The European nations declared war on one another in 1756 following months of localized conflict , escalating the war from a regional affair into an intercontinental conflict . </P>
who helped the british in the french and indian war
the colonies of British America