Shmuel Dov Palgon
Mr. Spring
American History
November 9th, 2015
Post French and Indian War Effects
The French and Indian War changed the relationship between Britain and the colonies. The war enabled Britain to be more ‘active’ in colonial political and economic dealings by imposing a set of laws and levying taxes unfairly on the colonies. That caused the colonists to change their ideology from toleration to hatred toward Britain. English debt lead to excessive taxation to the colonists, and this changed the way they felt about their mother country.
To begin with, The French and Indian War affected the political relationship between Britain and its American Colonies. Britain discarded its strategy of Salutary Neglect and increased their authority over its colonies. After 1763 (Document A), English settlements controlled the new land. This took a toll on the political relationship between Britain and the American colonists because it led to the Proclamation of 1763. The Native Americans (Document B) thought that the British had no right to take over ‘their’ land. The declaration was Britain's plan to avoid additional conflict. On the other hand, the colonists were incredibly upset, and strongly believed that they were being deprived of their freedom.
In addition to the territory conflict, after the war, England was left with endless debt which they had attained during the previous years. As a result, they began to strictly regulate the colonist’s trade, and enforce duties on regularly used items such as tea. While Britain credited these adjustments to their (Document F) territory building, the colonists became infuriated. They considered this to be an unwarranted taxation.
Due to this unexpected taxation, the economic relationship between the colonists and their mother country took a turn for the worst. Prior to the French and Indian War, the Navigation Acts required the colonists to send their raw material to England. The British used this raw material to make furnished goods that were to be sold back to the colonists who were originally forced to send the raw materials. This allowed Britain to accumulate gold as gold. Mercantilism, the thought that gold made people wealthy, was the foundation of Britain’s economy. However, when the colonists were heavily taxed, they decided to fight back and not send the raw material. This, in essence, ended mercantilism. Another act that enraged the influential colonists was the Stamp Act. Benjamin Franklin was one of the leaders who spoke out against it. As stated in Document ‘G’, Franklin wanted to "get it repeal'd" as quickly as possible. The colonists’ main strategy to help the situation was to boycott the British. They also put into place a non-importation and non-consumption rule, therefore affecting the economic relationship between the two sides.