- Published: September 12, 2022
- Updated: September 12, 2022
- University / College: King's College London
- Language: English
- Downloads: 14
The French and Indian war was fought by New France and British America between 1754 and 1763. When the two declared war on each other, military support by the parent countries mainly France and Great Britain stepped in. The conflict erupted mainly from the dispute upon the control of Monongahela and Allegheny rivers. The French made maximum use of the Indians upon understanding that they outnumbered by a great margin. An effective Canadian, French and Indian offense in addition to internal divisions and poor management caused British operations in New York and Pennsylvania to fail. British campaigns that were disastrous causing massacre of British victims and Indian torture caused the British government to fall in 1757. All this happenings formed a road to revolution for not only Britain and America but the entire Europe and its colonies.
The acts that were passed by Britain on America seemed to stir American’s revolution. For instance, the Proclamation Act of 1763 sought to prohibit settlement by Americans beyond the Appalachian Mountains. The colonists felt offended by the act. The Currency Act of 1764 argued that British trade was faced devalued harm due to the use of colonial currency. As a result American assemblies were banned from using bills of credit and paper bills. Further still, Britain blundered when they imposed direct tax on their colonies under the Stamp Act of 1765. The previous taxes that Britain had imposed were hidden or indirect but in this case, they demanded that tax stamps would be a must on many documents and items which were inclusive of marriage licenses, playing cards and newspapers. While these actions targeted to stabilize Britain’s economy, the Americans were feeling oppressed and a revolution spirit was stirred in them.
A point to note in the French and Indian wars was that the Britain involved them in the war. Amongst those involved was Major George Washington who later became the first president of the United States. The involvement of the Americans in the seven year war strengthened them as a society. Washington through his experience of facing the French general and informing them to get off British land made him tougher and he had portrayed his courage in the way he was involved and engaged in the battlefield. He was later promoted to occupy the Colonel rank and later became the Commander-in-Chief of Virgin troops. In conclusion therefore, the involvement of Americans in the French and Indian Wars plus the taxation acts that Britain went for on its colonies formed a motivated, stirred and made a clear road for America’s revolutionary war.
Works Cited
” Office of the Historian – Milestones – 1750-1775 – French and Indian War/Seven Years’ War.” Office of the Historian. N. p., n. d. Web. 10 Sept. 2013.
” The French & Indian War.” ushistory. org. N. p., n. d. Web. 10 Sept. 2013.