"The Last of the Mohicans" - Accuracy Report

Assessment Task

Film Study

"Last of the Mohicans"

Question: "To what extent is the film 'The Last of the Mohicans' an accurate portrayal of historical events?"

"The last of the Mohicans", the film, was based on a novel by James Fenemore Cooper. It is a fictional story set in an historical time. The movie is based on 'The French and Indian War' also known as 'The 7 Year War'. The war started in 1756 and ended in 1763. The French and English were fighting each other for the land between their two settlements and the possession of America.

At the start of the movie, it tells you that the year is 1757, the third year of the war. But in fact 1757 was the second year of the war because the war started in 1756. This means that the third year of the war would have to have been 1758.

Louis-Joseph de Montcalm trying to stop Native Ame...

This Census Bureau map depicts the locations of Na...

English: collage of public domain images

The countries involved in the war were England and France plus the Native Americans (Huron, Ohawa and Mohawks). This was accurately portrayed in the film.

The cause of conflict between the two countries was the fact that the English started to setting up farms in French Territory and the French weren't to happy. There had been conflict before the war but this was the strew that broke the camels back.

Some Native American tribes decided to side with the countries fighting by making deals with them. The Mohawks decided to side with England but the Huron and the Ohawa tribes decided to fight with the French because the French had always been better to the Native Americans then the English had been.

The locations and their names were accurate in the film. The three forts were Fort William Henry, Fort Edward and Alburney. They were all placed inside...