French-Indian War

The French Indian war, which lasted from 1754 to 1763, affected the relationship between Britain and the American colonies in a negative manner. The French Indian war enabled Britain to become more active in colonial politics and economics, while forcing them to have heavier taxes onto the colonies to help pay for the war. This lead the colonists, who were used to having more freedom due to Salutary Neglect, to start feeling more oppressed by Britain.

The land gained by the British from the war was a huge part of the New World. It allowed the colonists to expand towards the West. By the end of 1763, the British gained a lot of land in modern day Canada, and gained Florida from Spain. It was beneficial towards the colonists because they had a huge amount of area to explore, and it helped Britain become a dominant colony. With the gain of land, however, the British had to put in measures to stop the colonists from expanding too far out. Parliament passed the Proclamation of 1763, and it prohibited the settlement beyond the Appalachian Mountains. The colonists claimed that this was put in place to oppress them, which lead to groups of settlers passing over the mountains and moving into that land. Once the Proclamation was passed, the Indians were frustrated that their land was getting taken away. After the Huron Indians lost their French ally, there was no one to protect their lands. Therefore, the Chief of the Onondaga Nation of the Iroquois Confederacy came to speak to multiple representatives of the colonists. He repeatedly said that the colonists needed to remove themselves from the Indians’ land, as it is not the colonists’ right to settle there.

When the French Indian war ended, as did Salutary Neglect. The colonies were feeling the joy of being left alone, and were irritated that Britain had to come back and enforce taxes to help pay for the war. Britain enforced many taxes, such as the Stamp Act. It was largely rejected by the colonists, and they asked Parliament multiple times to repeal it. The Stamp Act was used with stamped paper to certify the tax was paid on normal paper goods. This caused tension between Britain and the colonies because the colonies believed it was an internal tax, meaning Parliament couldn’t pass it in the first place. However, Britain noticed that the colonies were not making enough money and that the colonies were separating themselves from Britain. Therefore, Britain continued to pass taxes onto the colonies, such as the Navigation Acts. This continued to enrage the colonists, and they slowly grew apart from Britain and began defying the British rule. Because of the amount of colonists that disagreed with the Stamp Act, the Sons of Liberty were made by John Hancock and Sam Adams. The Sons of Liberty would tar and feather tax collectors, and enforced boycotts against British companies. They would continue to enforce rules until the Boston Tea Party in 1773, which was one of the