Question

Close Reading: According to the reports Benjamin Franklin has read, what advantages do the French colonists looking for land in the Ohio River Valley have over the British-American colonists?

Answer 1

Answer:

The French colonists had a fleet of 360 battleships and Canoes, whereas the American Colonists had only 44 men

Explanation:

Part 1 - Join or Die  

Friday last an Express message arrived here from Major [George] Washington, that Mr. Ward of Capt. Trent’s colony (British-American Colonists), was compelled to surrender his small fort in the Ohio River Valley to the French colonists... on the 17th, they fell to a French attack- the French colonists had a Fleet of 360 Battleships and Canoes, upwards of 1000 Men, and 18 Pieces of Artillery, which they planted against the Fort; and Mr. Ward and the American colonists having but 44 Men, and no Cannon to make a proper Defense, was obliged to surrender...