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The French and indian war
The French and indian war
The French and Indian War was a major conflict that occurred between the years of 1754 and 1763. It was fought between the British and the French, along with their respective Native American allies. The conflict took place in North America and was a part of a larger global conflict known as the Seven Years War.
The French and Indian War began as a result of territorial disputes between the two powers in the Ohio River Valley. The British had been expanding their territory westward, encroaching on French land. This led to a series of skirmishes and battles between the two forces. Both sides were supported by Native American tribes who were eager to protect their own interests in the region.
The British forces, led by General Edward Braddock, suffered early defeats at the hands of the French and their Native American allies. However, the tide began to turn in 1758 when the British captured several key French forts, including Fort Duquesne. This victory allowed the British to gain control of the Ohio River Valley and put them in a stronger position in the conflict.
The French and Indian War came to an end in 1763 with the signing of the Treaty of Paris. Under the terms of the treaty, France ceded all of its North American territory to the British. This included Canada and the land east of the Mississippi River. The British emerged as the dominant power in North America and would go on to control the continent for the next century.
effects of the French and Indian War
effects of the French and Indian War
Conflict in the Ohio River Valley
Conflict in the Ohio River Valley
Pontiac's Rebellion end Salutary Neglect
Pontiac's Rebellion end Salutary Neglect
Native Americans who lived in the Ohio River Valley were angered by British colonial expansion after the French and Indian War. As British colonists moved in, more of their native lands were seized.
In early 1763, Native Americans led by an Ottawa Chief named Pontiac, seized almost every British fort in the Ohio River Valley. Then, they surrounded the last three. They attacked the forts and various settlements along the frontier.
The British colonists reacted with equal viciousness, killing even those Native Americans who had not attacked them. Eventually, Pontiac's Rebellion was stopped and a peace treaty was signed. However, Pontiac's Rebellion had shown the British how hard it was going to be to govern their new land.
England's Debt doubled
England's Debt doubled
The cost of the French and Indian War more than doubled the British debt. Interest payments alone consumed over half the national budget, and the continuing military presence in North America was a constant drain.
The Proclamation of 1763
The Proclamation of 1763
After the conclusion of the French and Indian War in America, the British Empire began to tighten control over its colonies. In response to Pontiac’s Rebellion, King George III declared all lands west of the Appalachian Divide off-limits to colonial settlers.
The Proclamation of 1763 created a boundary, known as the proclamation line, separating the British colonies on the Atlantic coast from American Indian lands west of the Appalachian Mountains.
A desire for good farmland caused many colonists to defy the proclamation; others merely resented the royal restrictions on trade and westward expansion. Many colonists refused to abide by the law.
The Sugar Act
The Sugar Act
The first British economic policy placed on the colonies was the Sugar Act of 1765. This law taxed sugar, molasses, and other products shipped to the colonies.
Colonists were angered by the Sugar Act and decided to boycott them.
The quartering act
The quartering act
When colonists refused to obey the Proclamation of 1763 and began to boycott the Sugar Act, the king sent 10,000 British troops to the colonies to enforce his laws. However, housing the soldiers was very expensive.
Therefore, Parliament passed the Quartering Act in 1765.
The Stamp Act
The Stamp Act
In 1765, Parliament passed the Stamp Act which taxed anything printed on paper by requiring colonists to buy a stamp, or seal, for paper products. These paper products included newspapers, contracts, playing cards, licenses, and any other legal or commercial document.
Colonial Resistance
Colonial Resistance
Samuel Adams began the Committees of Correspondence, groups that contacted other town and colonies about British taxes and how to fight them. One popular protest method was the boycott, where people refused to buy certain goods in protest. Many colonial women made substitutes for the boycotted British goods In Boston, Samuel Adams also helped form secret societies called the Sons of Liberty, which were groups of men that protested British policies and sometimes used violence to get their message across.
In 1765, a congress of nine colonies met in New York, called the Stamp Act Congress. They sent a request to King George III to repeal the act. Benjamin Franklin spoke to Parliament and urged this repeal. Some British politicians sided with the colonists. Parliamentary leader William Pitt spoke out against the stamp act. The protests and boycotts left King George III with no real choice but to repeal the Stamp Act.
After the repeal, the King approved the Declaratory Acts, which essentially said that Parliament had full authority over legislation (law making) in the colonies.
Townshend Acts lead to bloodshed!
Townshend Acts lead to bloodshed!
After the Stamp Act was repealed, England still had a major problem...they needed to pay back the debt they had made fighting the French and Indian War, as well as pay the cost of keeping British soldiers in the colonies.
In 1767, England's new Prime Minister, Charles Townshend, proposed a new series of taxes to raise revenue.
The Townshend Acts placed taxes on British imports to the colonies, such as glass, paper, paint, tea, and lead. In addition, the Townshend Acts allowed British officers to issue writs of assistance (search warrants) to enter homes and businesses to search for smuggled goods.
Colonists were angered by the Townshend Acts, especially that Parliament would continue to pass taxes on them without their consent. Colonists felt that only their local legislatures had the right to tax then since they were not allowed to have a representative in Parliament.
In response to the Townshend Acts, the people of Boston organized another boycott of British goods. Other colonies joined with this boycott. The boycott had detrimental effects on many of the colonies, but especially Massachusetts.
Massachusetts was a town built on the ocean and many people's livelihoods depended on importing and exporting goods. The boycott caused a large amount of unemployment in Boston and when the stress of having no job got too much, Boston exploded.
The Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre
On the night of March 5, 1770, a mob of Bostonians formed in front of the Boston custom house. There were eight British soldiers charged with protecting the customs house and keeping the peace. The mob began to throw snowballs and rocks and harassed the British soldiers. Some colonists dared them to fire.
A few soldiers panicked, killing five colonists. Crispus Attucks was the first to die. This event became known as the Boston Massacre.
After the event, England repealed all of the taxes of the Townshend Acts, except for the tax on tea.
The Tea Act
The Tea Act
Because of the tax on tea, many people continued to smuggle in their tea. Then in 1773, the British Parliament, in a bid to help the struggling British East India Tea Company, lowered the tax on tea. This made it cheaper to buy the taxed British tea than to smuggle it in from another country.
At the same time, this act gave the British East India Tea Company a monopoly on selling tea directly t the colonists. Meaning, they could only buy their tea from this company, no other.
The Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party
The problem was, it was still taxed tea... it didn't matter how cheap the tax was. An illegal tax is still a tax, even if it's low. Colonists refused to buy the tea.
When British East India Tea Company ships docked in Boston harbor and demanded their tea be offloaded, the colonists complied....just not in the way the British expected.
On December 16, 1773, the Sons of Liberty (dressed as Native Americans) boarded the ships and dumped all 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor. This act became known as the Boston Tea Party.
England's Punishment: The Intolerable Acts
England's Punishment: The Intolerable Acts
Angered by the colonists actions at the Boston Tea Party, Parliament determined to punish the colonists. King George decided he would have to "master" the colonists or "leave them to themselves." He wasn't willing to leave them alone, so he signed the Coersive Acts, which were known in the colonies as The Intolerable Acts.
It included many things:
Boston Harbor was closed until the colonists paid back the cost of the tea that was dumped.
Closed the port of Boston:
Town meetings banned
Massachusetts' charter was revoked
the Massachusetts legislature was now controlled by a new royally appointed governor, General Thomas Gage
Royal officials who committed crimes in the colonies would return to England to stand trial.
First Continental Congress
First Continental Congress
After the Intolerable Acts were passed, the colonists had had enough. In September of 1774, delegates from 12 of the 13 colonies met in Philadelphia, PA to discuss what to do about the intolerable British actions.
This meeting is called the First Continental Congress.
At this congress, or meeting, decisions were made, including:
Write a petition to the King, explaining our grievances (complaints) and asking him to stop abusing our rights as Englishmen.
Boycott of all British goods by all 13 colonies.
Meet again in one year if nothing had changed.
It wasn't long before it went beyond petitions and shots were first. Go to "Battles of the Revolution" to continue the story.
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