Chapter FourThe Empire Under Strain

King George III

The Albany Plan of Union

The French and Indian War

Effects of the War

• --Gave unchallenged supremacy in North America

• --dominant naval power in the world• --American colonies no longer face the threat

of attacks from the French, the Spanish or Indian allies

The British View

• Low opinion of colonial military effort—poorly trained, disorderly rabble—refusing to contribute money or troops to the war effort.

The Colonial View

• Proud of their military performance• Confident of their own defense• Not impressed with the British effort—badly

suited for American terrain• Still very proud to be British

2 Big Problems for the King

• A huge area to maintain• A huge war debt• The End of Salutary Neglect

Proclamation of 1763

• To deal with the problem of maintaining a large empire and stabilizing the western frontier and prevent hostilities between colonists and Native American.

• Colonists reaction: anger and defiance

• The Proclamation was a first in a series of actions and reactions—

• British: each act justified as proper method of protection and sharing the cost of burden

• Colonists: each act threatened their liberties and long established practice of representative government

New Revenues and Regulations

• Sugar Act: placed duties on foreign sugar, lower price of molasses, stricter enforcement of the Navigation act and established vice admiralty courts.

• Quartering Act: required the colonists to provide food and living quarters for British soldiers

• The Stamp Act—required revenue stamps on most printed paper—legal documents, newspapers, pamphlets etc-- antagonized and unified the colonist the most.

• Why? Not a tax on trade for commerce sake—it was a tax to raise money without the consent of the colonial assemblies. First direct tax.

• Patrick Henry• The Stamp Act Congress• Sons and Daughters of Liberty• Boycotts• Repealed having never collected one cent