The Result of the French and Indian War

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Charline Delkhah

Period 1

September 28, 2012

The Result of the French and Indian War

        The French and Indian War, as it is known in America, or the Seven Years' War, as it is known in Europe, took place between 1756 and 1763. The war was fought primarily between the colonies of British America and New France, with both sides supported by military units from their parent countries of Great Britain and France. The Native Americans in the unsettled territories aided the French for the reason that  they were afraid of the ruthless Americans. Over time, as a result of the war, the relations between the British and the Americans were altered, sensing a soon-to-be revolution. Unnecessary laws and acts were put into place that angered the Americans, which, as a result, the French and Indian War altered the relationship between the British and the Americans by the abandonment of salutary neglect, the loss of respect towards each other, and the creation of imperial reorganization.

        Before the British abandoned salutary neglect, the Americans could trade with whomever they pleased.  This did not affect  the economy of the British until after the war. The British nearly doubled their debt after the French and Indian War and needed a way to ensure that they will get profit from the colonies. In order to get their share of profit, the British Parliament decided to abolish salutary neglect. Although this angered colonists, they decided to still continue their trade with the other countries by smuggling their goods to the ships. The British also added the Proclamation of 1763 after the completion of the war. The purpose for this proclamation was to create a barrier between the Americans and the Native Americans after Pontiac's Rebellion. This rebellion was lead by the Ottawa leader, Pontiac, for whom the rebellion was named after. Pontiac and the other tribes were disgruntled with Britain's post war policies in the Great Lakes region after their victory in the war. Other Native American tribes joined Pontiac in the goal of driving the British soldiers as well as the colonists out of the Great Lakes region. This caused the formation of the Proclamation of 1763 as a response to the rebellion. The proclamation stated that the Americans could not settle west of the Appalachian mountains. Although the Native Americans were pleased with this proclamation, they knew that the settling of the Americans was a mundane routine. The Native Americans came to the conclusion that the British had no purpose residing on their land and they were not welcomed onto their land (Document B). The proclamation didn't let the American expansion to the west, which angered the inland colonists. The colonists were under the impression that their mother country respected the colonists' enemies more than they respected the colonists. The Americans were also furious at the British because the proclamation extended the Spanish land in the west and it allowed the French  - Canadians the right to settle in the Ohio River Valley.  The Americans thought that their involvement in the war would give them additional land but were furious when they were informed that they would not gain land, but instead the land that they believed was rightfully theirs would belong to Britain (Document A). the British, because they were land hoards, were not concerned with how the Proclamation of 1763 and the abandonment of salutary neglect directly affected the colonists. They were only concerned with how it affected them, which exasperated the Americans. The beginning of the end of the French and Indian war was the beginning of a rivalry between a mother country and her child with hatred that would extend until the American Revolution.

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        Before the French and Indian War, respect and honor existed between England and America. During the war, George Washington requested to serve under English General Edward Braddock. He wrote a letter to England stating that it would be a privilege to work under the general (Document C). but when General Braddock got himself killed as a result of not listening to Washington and assuming that the French are gentlemen, Washington lost respect for the English army. This small dim-witted  event helped the respect towards the two countries slowly fade. When the Proclamation Line was created, the British didn’t care about ...

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