The French And Indian War

The American Revolution was fought from 1775-1783, the war happened because of the tension that was building between Great Britain and their thirteen colonies. From 1607 to 1763, Britain gave the thirteen colonies benign and salutary neglect. Even though the colonists lived under the Mercantilist doctrine, they were still allowed to prosper while under Great Britain’s authority. The French and Indian war changed their relationship.Great Britain going to war with France caused them to accumulate a lot of debt. They thought heavily taxing the colonists would help them pay off their debt. The colonists were unaware of the taxing until Great Britain started taxing them on tea, which they drank daily. This caused their taxing plan to backfire. Great Britain 's relationship with the colonies developed into an armed conflict that caused the colonists to declare their independence in 1776. “The first shots heard around the world” of the Revolutionary War were supposedly heard at Lexington and Concord. France entered the American Revolution on the side of the colonists, the French were persuaded by Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin in 1778. France helped the Continental Army to get the British to surrender at Yorktown in 1781 causing the Americans to win their independence; the fighting didn’t officially end until 1783. Revolutionary War was started and fought over economic, social, and political issues.

Parliament decided that the colonies should help pay towards the cost of the recent war debt and for future defense. The first step towards this was the Revenue Act of 1764, generally referred to as the Sugar Act. The Sugar Act was also known as “an Act with Teeth,”(Mass Historical Society) symbolizing that it was an act with depth or of importance. The Act itself was divided into two sections. First, it was intended to raise money from trade between the British colonies in America. It levied import duties on a list of raw materials including: sugar, coffee, indigo, wine, rum, lumber, and various cloths. The Sugar Act made the Molasses Act of 1733 perpetual. Although it cut the tax on molasses in half, from sixpence to threepence per gallon, to discourage smuggling and to make the tax attractive. Second, the Act revamped and reinvigorated the customs service, which managed the collection of these import duties. For the first time, colonists argued that Parliament was depriving them of a fundamental constitutional right to have these goods duty free.

The French and India war was a war that took place in today’s Pittsburgh. The war was both caused by the English and French. The English and the French both felt that they were entitled to land and each was to willing to fight and they were also, willing to go into war so they could prove that they owned the land. (odellreads.com)

Right before the Stamp Act, the Indian Chief Pontiac attacked the colonist trying to drive them from the land for the last time. The rebellion resulted in Britain passing the Proclamation of 1763 after realizing they did not have the means to protect the vast amount of land they had acquired. The Proclamation stated that no one could settle past the Appalachian Mountains. This law angered the colonist because they believed that the land was rightfully theirs.

The French and Indian wars is the general name for a series of wars and conflicts between Great Britain and France during a period of 75 years. The fought over the possession of North America for territorial expansion in general, and for the rich fur trade around the Hudson Bay region specifically.

The French and Indian also known as the Seven Year War started in 1754 and ended in 1763. The French and Indian War had been supported by the American and the British colonies. However, there was always a war waging before the first shot had taken place. The war was fought with one ally, France and Native Americans, against Britain. This war was brought up for dominance, power, and economical reasons. And the war emerged over colonial borders.

The Proclamation Line of 1763 was issued by King George III on October 7, 1763, after the Treaty of Paris, as an attempt to forbid similar incidents like the French and Indian War from happening again. The Secretary of State Lord Egremont advised King George III that, “the surest way to prevent another general Indian war from occurring was to forbid Native Americans and white colonists from mixing with one another.” As a result, King George III declared that all territories west of the Appalachian Mountains belonged to the Native Americans and that colonists were forbidden to cross that boundary line and it was defined as “terra nullius- a no man’s land-”. King George III stated, “the several Nations or Tribes of Indians with whom We are connected, and who live under our Protection, should not be molested or disturbed in the Possession of such Parts of Our Dominions and Territories as, not having been ceded to or purchased by Us, are reserved to [the Native

Many events happened during the period of time from 1763 through 1775 that changed American’s mindset as the country grew. Both people and events during this time affected the nation of the United States enormously. This time period changed the United States for better in it’s development as a nation. Specific people like Thomas Paine and Samuel Adams tenaciously tried to change the course of history; wars, such as the French and Indian war altered the perception of the American people. These events and people were some of the many that facilitated the colonists’ defiance against the British. Altercations they encountered turned the people of the newly formed Americas against the British aiding in their quest for independence.

Proclamation of 1763 was ordered on October 9,1763 by King George III, which was after Britain obtained French territory in America. The job was to create a newly gained territory in America and get a better relationship between the natives and the Europeans. They achieve this goal by regulating trade, settlement and buying land on the western frontier. The colonist thought that if they had fought a war to defend the land makes it theirs. The British wanted the colonist to maintain control of the land. The colonist used to move west of the proclamation line as a form of rebellions that foreshadowed the American Revolution.

Analyzing this quote we can infer several meanings, let’s start with the following fragment. “The French claim all the land and one side of the river and the English claim everything on the other” This part of the quote makes a reference to the war between New England and France for land better known as the seven year war. As mentioned in the article “French and Indian War/Seven Years’ War”, this war marked a chapter in the long imperial struggle between Great Britain and France.

Albany Congress 1754: In 1754 the British government summoned an intercolonial congress to Albany, New York, near the Iroquois Indian country. Travel-weary delegates from only seven of the thirteen colonies showed up. The Albany Congress is important because it was the first time colonial delegates met to discuss some kind of formal union. 3.

The whole point of the meeting was to come to an agreement over disputes of land claims between colonies and Indian nations including the Iroquois. Though, through trickery, the Iroquois had ceded to the colonies land “from sea to sea”.2(p. 187) This meant land from the Ohio Valley all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Needless to say the Indians involved were disappointed and angered.

Since the beginning of history, wars have been fought to gain territories, independence, or to fight against those who take away one’s rights. The French and Indian War was fought in North America over the Ohio Valley, however, it is much more than just a war to gain territory. This war opened doors to the colonists who decided that fighting for independence was something they were in need of doing. The French and Indian War was the portion of the Seven Year’s War that was fought in North America between Great Britain and France. Within every war there are winners and losers. There are never two winners in a war. With Great Britain’s anate ability to fight France overseas in the Atlantic Ocean was how they received their win in the French and Indian War. Although, Great Britain won the war while France lost, both of these countries had many positive and negative affects during and after the war.

The frustrations amongst colonists did not stop with the Proclamation Line. In 1764 the Revenue Act, more commonly known as the Sugar Act was passed cutting the duty on molasses in half. Though the reduction in duty was favorable, the act also meant that ships carrying cargo were very closely monitored and those who breached laws regarding duty were tried in juryless admiralty courts. Following the Revenue Act was the Currency act of 1764, which prohibited colonies from producing their own currency; the reasoning was to restrict colonists from paying off debt with currency that was worth less than face value.

Between 1763 and 1765, the crown imposed a number of acts on the American colonist designed to recoup funds lost during the French and Indian War. One of the first acts imposed was the Sugar Act. This act was a modified version of a previous act the British had imposed in 1733 called the Sugar and Molasses act, which was about to expire. Under the old act, colonial merchants had been required to pay a tax of six pence per gallon on any importation of foreign molasses. The colonist undercut the market by instead buying molasses from the French West Indies instead of the British West Indies. The colonist used the molasses purchased cheaper from the French to produce rum. Because of this practice, Lord Grenville, the first lord of the Treasury increased the presence of British naval ships and instructed them to become more stringent in their enforcement of customs.