By the time Washington turned 21, Britain and France were about to go to war for control of North America.
Both countries had settlers there. The British colonies along the Atlantic coast of North America were growing much faster than the French ones farther inland. Many British colonists wanted to move west across the Appalachian Mountains and into the Ohio Valley. The French were determined to keep them out. They claimed land all along the Ohio River. They wanted to protect their territory. When France and Britain finally went to war over land in North America, George Washington’s military career began.
