Dbq French and Indian War Essay

Before 1754, both the French and British had huge masses of land in America. Also sharing the land, was the natives, who were exceedingly nervous about the Englishmen taking away their land. This conflict eventually led to the French and Indian war, also known as the Seven Years war (1754-1763). The French and Indian war altered the political, economic, and ideological relations Britain and it’s American colonies in many ways where it ultimately led to the American Revolution because of the strain that was developed between them. The French and Indian war altered the political relations between Britain and it’s American colonies because of what happened before and after the French and Indian war. Before the war, the British had let colonists be and do whatever they wanted. But after the war, Britain had gained more land, as seen in Doc. A, and salutary neglect ended. This then brought up a feud on colonist’s representation in Parliament. To control the colonists, a British army was put in place that they told everyone was for their own protection from the Natives. The Proclamation Line was also executed, which was that a imaginary line that separated the colonists and the Natives(Doc. B). The British saw this a protection for the colonists, but it was actually just a negative for those saving up to buy land in new territory. Having the British soldiers guard the colonists from the natives became expensive, so the Quartering Act was put into place to make sure that every soldier would have a place to stay and then, the Restraining Act was enforced to make the colonist’s pay for the soldiers. This only enraged the colonists more because they were forced to house and support the enemy that was sent to take away their rights. All British relations in politics with the Americans were ruined because of acts put in place, causing the colonist’s to want to separate from Britain. The French and Indian war eventually slid the British back into a economic recession. They had to find a way to get their money back from the war. In Britain’s mind, the only logical place to get the money was from the American colonists because the money was technically spent on them, as seen in Doc. F. But The British was not expecting the hostile response from their Stamp Act and having to pay for the war damages. The colonists have never been taxed before, and they couldn’t understand why they had to pay without having representation for themselves. The Stamp Act really affected every colonist because they were forced to pay for every day items. The Stamp Act Congress sent appeals to Britain’s government to try to convince them of the insanity of the act, but the government was not going to change their mind(Doc. G). While going against the Stamp Act, the Colonists mocked the act by placing skulls in the place where the stamp on documents and letters would go(Doc. H). It was clear from the American response that they were not going to just give up and let the English tax them without a clear fight. Both the colonists and the British both had their different opinions, which created an even stronger strain between them, reeling in the American Revolution closer and closer. The ideological relations between the colonists and the British were undeniably a part of the developing strain after the French and Indian war. Before the war, North America was where the former England settlers went, and they still considered themselves as a part of their homeland(Doc. E), until the England government taxed the colonists and not their country as a whole(Doc. F). The colonists changed their ideology about staying loyal to their mother country because of this and slowly started to drift towards rebellion. The Natives also were about of the developing strain between the British and the colonists. The Natives were solely afraid that the British would take their land for farming, and they thought that the British people had no right to settle there(Doc. B). And then, after the Proclamation line was present, the military had come in to protect the colonists, but it is proven true that the armies were seen as scum (Doc. D). The American colonists just wanted equality and liberty from the British empire, but it was obvious that they weren’t going to get that because of the British taxes and not letting further settling in the other parts of the American land. Both of these contributions led to the colonists wanting to succeed from the British empire. The French and Indian war changed the political, economic, and the ideological relations between Britain and it’s American colonies because of the developing strain that eventually led to the American Revolution.