Laissez-Faire Relationship Between Colonies And Great Britain

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After the Seven Years’ War, the relationship between the colonies and Great Britain became one filled with tension due to various different factors. The old laissez-faire relationship was slowly dissolving. Taxation had become a heavy burden for the colonists and increasing restrictive legislation from Parliament became a common hatred for the colonists. Stricter control from the Crown in order to keep mercantilism held in place and to pay off the debts of the war were slowly being instituted. The French and Indian war to a great extent had marked a turning point in the relationship between the colonies and the British due to increasing trade restrictions, lockdowns on expansion, and changes in economic policies.

A majority of the protests and hatred from the colonists was sparked by the economic policy changes or rulings imposed on the colonies by the motherland. An attempt by Parliament to tax the colonies in order to pay of the war deficit had eventually led to the Molasses Act of 1733, which charged six pence a gallon on molasses. The colonists saw this could be easily evaded
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Prior to the Seven Years’ War, the only time expansion was stopped was due to the French occupation of territory, but since the British won the war, that was not an issue. The Proclamation Line of 1763, however, directly halted expansion for the colonists. The Crown took control of the western lands, and the natives could actually keep their lands. Colonists were angered that the Crown now managed their expansion and that the rich soil in the Ohio River Valley was now restricted. The colonists also didn’t care for the Native Americans and didn’t want to preserve their land. By restricting the colonists’ area of expansion, they gained more control of the colonies. This contributed to the colonists’ reasons to start a revolution and marked a turning point in the colonies’ and British