| War is extremely costly and a burden on a country especially if that country is constantly at war or in conflict. In 1776 when the colonists of the New World decided to claim their independence they knew that Britain was in some trouble already... |
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| As a result of some of the colonists interactions with Indians and the French over the Ohio River valley, war broke out and spread back to Europe which forced Britain to take action in order to protect it's colonies. After England spent a lot of money and man-power to defeat the French they gained fifty percent of the land that the French owned in the Middle America's. As a result of this war Britain is left militarily weak and in a lot of financial trouble. The colonists knew after the war that Britain was vulnerable and if they were going to formulate a plan to try and gain their independence it was going to have to be very soon. |
| Also as a result of this war, there were still hostilities between colonists and the French and Indians. Also the British declared the Proclamation line in 1763 which angered the colonists very much. As a result they were not able to cross this line and explore the large new area that Britain had obtained from the French. Due to these tensions, mainly between the colonists and Indians the British were forced to maintain a standing army near the Proclamation line in order to prevent contact between the colonists and the French and Indians. This standing army was very costly for the British as well and these military men also tended to anger the colonists by entering their houses and staying there, claiming to have rights from the crown. This angered the colonists very much due to the fact that they felt that their personal space was being invaded and that they should not have to put up with these soldiers that were there to prevent them from moving westward. |
| Due to the above circumstances Britain was forced to tax the colionies in an effort to rebound from their economic troubles and to try and get money out of the colonies that were costing them so much. In 1764 Britain passed the Sugar Act which was to be followed by a series of other acts that would add to the further discontent of the colonists. As a result of increasing tension between colonists which only added to their fever for freedom and the recession of the British economy aided the colonists in their fight for independence. In fact due to a mixture of money troubles and courage and will shown by the colonists they were able to gain their freedom. |
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| Proclamation Line of 1763 |
| Original 13 Colonies of 1775 |
| In 1763 the Proclamation line was passed by the British, which is represented by the dotted line in the picture, angered colonists extremely. |
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| "...the armed loyalist, would poison the American political atmosphere beyond recovery, at best turning the colonies into a larger, more remote, less manageable version of Ireland, where British authority maintained itself by a mixture of corruption, armed force, and a brutal readiness to resort to either on the slightest provocation." (pg. 192, Shy) |