NM+French+and+Indian+War

The French and Indian War was a major turning point in British and colonial relations because of changes in social and economic factors of their relationship. The colonists lost their idea of invincible Britain after fighting alongside them and the economic regulations and taxes placed by the British on the colonists. During the French and Indian War, the local militias, which were called by the British regulars as the “buckskin” militia, fought with in the regulars in many battles against the French. During these battles the colonists lost much respect for the regulars because during many battles the regulars would become scared and huddle together and hide or even retreat because the French and Indians fought a guerilla style of war. The regulars were not used to this kind of warfare because they fought in columns which they considered to be the gentleman way of fighting. The image of seeing these almighty soldiers cowering in fear made the colonists lose this idea of an invincible Britain that had always been instilled in their minds since they were children because when fighting the gentleman style, there was no one better than the British and they also had the most powerful navy in the world. As the colonists lost respect for the British military it caused friction between the military leaders and the colonist soldiers. The military leaders refused to recognize any military leader above the rank of captain in the colonial militias which was a slap in the face to the colonists. The colonists felt contempt towards the “snobs” of the Old Country just as the British were condescending towards the colonists because they viewed them as scum who had fled from their problems instead of working to solve them. This social friction was part of the reason the French and Indian War was a turning point in British and colonial relationships. During the French and Indian War, much economic responsibility was put on the colonists for financing the war. They were forced to house soldiers, feed them, arm themselves and the British as well as pay taxes in order to help Britain alleviate some of its debt. For this sacrifice that they made for their mother country, they were promised to be reimbursed after the war was over. However this never happened which angered the colonists who felt betrayed for by their mother country. This only added to this feeling of not being English anymore but actually being American and felt a sense of independence from Britain. The taxes placed on the colonists were very heavy and taxed basically every aspect of the economy. The first of the major taxes was in 1764 with the Sugar tax which taxed them on sugar. Two more followed until in 1765 the Stamp Act was imposed which a direct tax on every printed product that was sold. This enraged the colonists because it was a direct tax and taxed every single colonist. The real problem with this tax was that the colonists did not have any representation in Parliament to have a say in the taxes imposed. Since they did not have any say they only felt more contempt towards the mother country and began feeling a rupture in their relationship from the economic effects of the French and Indian War.