Scottish soldiers played an important role in defending the American colonies and in settling them. Around the middle of the 18th century, the British government began sending regiments like Fraser's Highlanders to America; thereafter, the French and Indian War of 1756 to 1763 led to significant recruitment in Scotland for service in the American colonies. The experience gained by these soldiers was to influence their own and other Scots' decisions to settle or emigrate to America. After all, the allocation of land to former military personnel in the aftermath of that war was a major incentive. Scottish soldiers and former soldiers fought on both sides of the American Revolution, and following that conflict a number of Scottish Loyalists settled in what would become Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Ontario, and Quebec.