Answer: The French and Indian War began over the specific issue of whether the upper Ohio River valley was a part of the British Empire, and therefore open for trade and settlement by Virginians and Pennsylvanians, or part of the French Empire
Explanation: It began with a dispute over control of the confluence of the Allegheny River and Monongahela River called the Forks of Ohio, and the site of the French Fort Duquesne at the location that later became Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Then, the Indians sided with the French, because they didn't like the British.