How did First Nations feel about British expansion into the Ohio Valley?

• A. They were angry because the British wanted to own land while the French treated land as sovereign and kept alliances through gifts.
• B. They were angry because the French treated First Nations as a sovereign nation and maintained alliances with gifts, while the British wanted to own land.
• C. They were happy about British expansion and sought the same rights as British settlers.
• D. They remained neutral and avoided interaction with colonial powers.

Answer: (B)

Sovereignty and how outsiders engage with Indigenous nations are the key ideas here. In the Ohio Valley, First Nations valued autonomy and respected political relationships. The French built alliances with them by recognizing their sovereignty and reinforcing ties through gifts and diplomacy, which helped maintain a balance of power and stave off encroachment. The British, by contrast, pushed for land ownership and settlement, which meant taking territory and imposing new rules that diminished Indigenous authority over their lands. This fundamental difference explains why First Nations reacted with anger toward British expansion and often aligned with the French to resist encroachment.