This was the name given by the Americans for the seven years’ war which happened in North America between British America and New France. The name came about because of the chief foes of the British colonies which were the royal French forces and the various Indigenous forces allied with them. The war which went on from 1754 – 1763 took a total of seven years before its conclusion with a peace treaty agreement. The last of a series of wars between the British and the French over North America, the clash was mainly by the boundaries dividing the British colonies from New France.
The Resulting Relationship between the American Colonies and England after the War.
The ending of the war brought with it new types of problems which led to hostilities between the American colonies and England. The bid to gain full control of the American colonies by England was met with fierce opposition. England, on the one hand, had changed. It no longer was ruled totally by its monarch and was now referred to as Great Britain, not just Britain. While the American colonies, on the other hand, had transformed too. The psychology of the present colonist had changed compared to the former settlers hundred years ago. They saw their legislatures as a miniature version of the British Parliament in London and believed that, with it, they could be self-governed (Ember).
In a bid to gain full and total control of the colonies while doing away with the incurred debt, the British mapped a strategic move which would strike out self-reliance amongst the colonies thereby gaining total dependence of the colonies on them. This move was to create laws which would:
- Find a way to shift the debt to the colonies so that they pay for the war, after all it was their war.
- Suppressing totally the colonies to full submission of serving the mother land (Britain).
- Crushing all forms of ideologies that would foster self-governance by the colonies. And the colonies would be under constant supervision (Brainard).
Find a way to shift the debt to the colonies so that they pay for the war.
After the war, Great Britain was left with a huge debt it had acquired in the cause of fighting the French and its Indian allies, and had devised a means through which they would pay the debts. The means involved taxing their American colonies to help pay for the debt, after all the debt was spent fighting the French and its Indian allies which were a treat to them. But this move was met with fierce opposition. The Americans did not see it in the same light. They felt the war had left them worse than before and so saw no need to pay for the war (the French and Indian War: cause).
The tax acts were the Sugar act, the Currency act, the Stamp act, and the Declaration act.
The Sugar Act
Aimed purely at creating revenue, the sugar act was made to increase tax on non-British goods. The act was design to hamper the importation non British goods. The tax went on to affect molasses brought into the colonies (Shmoop Editorial Team).
The Currency Act
The Stamp Act
This act which practically enslaved the American colonies stated that for every piece of paper printed and used by the colonist, the bought a stamp. This meant that newspapers, writing pads, cards were been taxed (Ember). This act was also one of the ways devised by the British to divert the cost of paying the debt of the war. But this act was met with swift reactions (Brainard).
The Declaration Act
This act aimed at suppressing the colonies to total submission was created the same day the stamp act was cancelled. This act made to inculcate total submission of the colonies the parliament of Britain. The act goes further to state that the parliament has the right to put into law anything it sees fit (Ember).
The act only shows how distant the British were from their colonies. The British made sure it checked every activity of the colonies. It made sure that all laws made by the American colonies past through their parliament which would screen and pick which best fits the colonies to practice. This, though little, was accepted by the colonies because of the fact that they produced the laws (Ember).
Suppressing totally the colonies to full submission of serving the mother land
- The re-instatement of customs official in America. This, which the American hated because they believed the official were paid for doing nothing.
- The creation of Writs of Assistance which made it increasingly difficult to smuggle goods into the colonies by smugglers.
- Patrol of British warships to catch smugglers and seize contraband in the inlets and ports of America.
- In a trial without jury, smugglers were tried in the Admiralty court which gave the judges 5% of the fines imposed.
- And finally, the American colonies were ordered by the Quartering Act of 1765 to make provision for quarters which was to hold the 10,000 soldiers posted to the colonies. And this was to be carried out by any cost possible, even if it met giving their houses. The Act stated that the soldiers were there to help protect them against the Indians (Brainard).
Conclusion
Looking at the acts and laws made by the British one would notice that the tried in all possible manner to suppress and oppress the American colonies. The three moves to create laws was a perfect way to suck out money for the debt and keep the American colonies loyally attached to the British. Though, this later led to the American Revolution, the British had a way of suppress the colonies to total submission.
Works Cited
Brainard, Rick. “Causes of the American Revolution: The Problem Begins.” history1700s.com. 18th Century History. n.b. Web. 18 Mar. 2013.
Ember, Steve. “AMERICAN HISTORY: Relations Between Britain and its American Colonies After the French and Indian War.” voanews.com. Voice of America. 12 Nov. 2012 Web. 18 Mar. 2013.
Shmoop Editorial Team. "The French & Indian War Timeline of Important Dates" Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 18 Mar. 2013.
“The French and Indian War: Causes, Effects & Summary.” education-portal.com. Education Portal. n.b. Web. 18 Mar. 2013.
