Changes in Relations Between the American Colonists and Great Britain
Well, the French and Indian War altered the relationship between the American colonists and Britain politically by giving Britain full control of the east, economically putting Britain in extreme debt and compelling Parliament to impose taxes on its colonists, and by shifting the colonists' loyalty toward the Rebellion against Britain.
First, to start, colonists begin to settle on the land beyond the Appalachian Mountains. That caused tensions with the natives who primarily reside there. Canassatego, the chief of the Onondaga Nation of Iroquois Confederacy, delivered a speech to the representatives of Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. His speech speaks with an accusing tone as he is very upset by the unrightfully settling of the American colonists. He looks at the white settlers as people who hunted and addressed the representatives that they know the colonists have no right to settle and the Natives’ land. Soon after his speech, Britain was forced to implement the Proclamation line of 1763, which prevented American settlers from moving past the Appalachian Mountains. Like most people, the settlers were angered because they believed they deserved the land due to their service in the war.
Moreover, toward the end of the war, Britain’s economy rapidly declined, and its struggled to pay its war debts. As a way to solve this issue, it enforced a series of acts on the American colonists which were, the Council of 1763 concluded that the current revenue from the colonists was not significant enough to pay a fourth of the cost to collect it. Also, it imposed the controversial Stamp Act, a tax on all paper goods. The council, sooner than later, speaks with concern as it suffers the income from the colonies, but it is not nearly enough for them to replace all of the debt. They only look at the Parliaments' point of view, needing to ease the debt. Instead, they don’t look at the colonists' view, which makes them protest about unfair taxation and chant, “No taxation without representation.”
Additionally, on August 9, 1765, Benjamin Franklin wrote a letter to John Hughes. The letter contained doubts about the removal of the Stamp Act. He states to stay loyal to Britain because if they are caught talking about removing the act, they would be tried with treason. Franklin is very wise and he cares for his future and the future of his ally, John Hughes. He goes on and on about if he keeps on trying to repeal the act, that his attributes will be remembered by the colonists. The British also executed a tax called the Sugar Act, which added about three cents and a sales tax on sugar. The chain of taxes aroused the American colonists to boycott all the British goods. This only made it more seriously incapacitated than it already was.
The French and Indian War caused the colonists to change their political, economic, and ideological relations with the British. Political relations were tarnished by the Proclamation of 1763, the economic relations were strained by the taxes placed on the colonies by the British to cover the French and Indian War costs, as well as those in the future. The ideological relations were diminished due to Britain's governing without representation on the American colonies. The French and Indian war played a crucial part in the American Revolution.
