Social Significance of 1763 in America an Essay

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Social Significance of 1763 in America

An Inevitable First American Revolution

In 1763, France and Spain ceded much of eastern North America to the British as part of the peace deal that took place in Paris on February 10 (Galloway 8). This brought to an end the Seven Years War, otherwise known as the French and Indian War. The amount of land that Britain won with its victory was massive, extending east from the Mississippi River, north to the Hudson Bay, and south to Florida. Concessions were also made in an effort to appease France and Spain. The British monarchy returned Havana, Cuba to Spain, a critical way point for ships entering and leaving the Gulf of Mexico and ports south. France retained the northern most sections of Canada around Hudson Bay and several Caribbean Islands, including the sugar-producing economic dynamo Guadalupe.

On the surface, it seemed that all three superpowers had ended what was essentially a world war that ravaged the eastern edge of the North American continent and the Atlantic shipping lanes for years. On a more public level, the people inhabiting North America at the time had their own notions about what their world should look like. The tensions between British colonists and the British rulers began to be felt almost immediately, as the Crown attempted to recover its financial footing after an immensely expensive war (Galloway 4). New taxes and duties were assesses during a post-war economic slump that ruffled the feathers of many (Galloway 13). The end of the French and Indian War thus created the economic conditions that led to the American Revolution a mere 12 years later.

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At the end of the war colonialists were proud of their British citizenry and wanted to remain within British rule (Galloway 13-14). These feelings were more superficial than many realized, since during the war the citizens were largely left to fend for themselves and had become used to a form of government similar to self-rule. Add to this mix the post-war economic slump, along with the growing realization that the British Monarchy was going to pay off its debts at their expense, and the first seeds of revolt were planted.

Native American involvement in the French and Indian War was based on self-interest (Galloway 48-56). The different tribes who had a stake in the outcome of the hostilities sided with either the French or British, depending on who they felt would protect their interests the best. These interests included retaining control of their land and self-rule. Unfortunately, the Native populations had been repeatedly decimated by epidemics, along with their ability to defend their territories against settlers and the British Army. Sir William Johnson informed the Lords of Trade in 1763 that the Indian leaders he met with were amused with the stated intentions of both the French and British, because "… they made War for the protection of the Indian rights, but that they plainly found, it was carried on, to see who would become masters of what was the property of neither the one nor the other" (Galloway 48). In other words, Native American leaders were keenly aware that French or British ambassadors were lying and the real purpose of the war was annexing Indian.....

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