French and Indian War The victory of the English in the French and Indian War initiated a series of actions that eventually caused the American Revolution. These actions consisted of England not allowing the colonists to move westward, starting to heavily enforce the Navigation Laws, and issuing new laws to pay the war debt. After the war, Great Britain emerged as the dominant power in North America. On the other hand, this power came with a large cost àEngland was in debt about ã140 million. England did not intend to make the colonies pay for all of the debt, however, the British felt that they should pay for a third of the cost. This was because Great Britain had provided approximately 10,000 redcoats to protect the colonies. After the war, the colonists had increased confidence in their military strength because they had helped their mother country defeat the French and Indians.
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English: This political cartoon (attributed to Ben...
English: Schematic map of the French and Indian Wa...Little did the colonists know that rather than receiving credit for their contributions in the war, England would instead find numerous ways to profit better from the colonies.
England did not allow the colonists to move onto the newly acquired land from the war. The colonists were "land-hungry" (p.115) because they were now free to move past the Appalachian Mountains. However, England shocked the colonies by issuing the Proclamation of 1763. This document prohibited the colonists to settle beyond the Appalachians. The document's purpose was to enable England to work out the land problem with the Indians as well as prevent another bloody outburst like Pontiac's attacks in the Ohio Valley. Despite this, the colonists felt that Great Britain was trying to suppress them. They believed that the land past the Appalachians was their birthright since they had fought for it. Many of the colonists died for...