British Colonies Tensions

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British-Colonies Tensions For most colonists who lived in America during the 1760s, the thought of national independence was never anticipated. As we talked about last time in class, this was a period of optimism after the Seven years war. In 1776, there were 2.5 million people, black and white, living in the thirteen colonies. There was great diversity in the colonies, not only British immigrants but also Dutch, French, German, plus Africans and Native Americans. Most of these 2.5 million people were young in age as well, 60% were under the age of 21 which was a huge factor in political mobilization. For the most part, people were doing well financially, people made enough money to cover their living expenses plus extra for luxuries.…show more content…
Everyone in government thought that with the end of the war, armies would be disbanded and sent home, which would save a lot of money. However, George III insisted on keeping a large peacetime army on active duty. His idea was that he wanted to protect and preserve order in the new territories of Florida and Quebec. This made the debt skyrocket even further. The American colonists did not believe there were even enough soldiers to really protect the frontier at all, in fact in 1763 a huge Native uprising of various tribes lead by two men named Neolin and Pontiac who staged a massive attack called Pontiac’s Rebellion in May 1763. The army attacked villagers in Michigan, Virginia, and Pennsylvania and George’s army proved unable to protect these colonists from any attacks. This Rebellion lost its momentum when it failed to really make a huge impact. This was a huge blow to the Native Americans who suffered the greatest after the Seven Years War and territory reorganization. The French had treated the Natives as a necessary partner in the New World, but the British just thought they were an obstacle, so when the French were forced to leave the New World, the Indians suffered at the hands of the British; British stopped trading and being diplomatic, with Pontiac’s Rebellion there was now extreme racism along the frontiers, and colonists began to use any excuse to attack Native American…show more content…
However, the royal commissioners still positioned in cities continued to abuse their powers in greater numbers and force and this abuse severely fractured relationships with colonists and colonial assemblies. A man named Samuel Adams (1722-1803) refused to believe that the repeal of the Townshend Acts secured American liberty. While things were quieting down on some fronts, Adams kept the cause alive through public relations. He reminded Bostonians that they were still taxed on their tea; he organized events that remembered the repeal of the Stamp Act and the Boston Massacre. However, Adams was a real revolutionary, he held public virtue and civil liberties sacred, and he believed America would be like a “Christian Sparta” of vigilant citizens. As the British officials became more greedy and corrupt, he insisted on forming a committee of correspondence to communicate grievances to other colonists. His committee was an instant hit and spread all over the 13. He had created a structure of communication entirely independent of the
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