Changes From The North American Colonies Prior To 1763

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The relationship between Great Britain and the North American colonies changes drastically from what is was prior to 1763. This was mainly caused due to the French and Indian War or & Years War as they called it in Great Britain. Mercantilism was a big concept in Europe during that time and it emphasized self-sufficiency. A country would want to export more goods than they imported to achieve an optimal balance of trade. The North American Colonies helped Britain achieve this because they would ship Britain raw goods at cheap prices who would use them to manufacture goods to export at higher prices. This dynamic was what the colonies were mainly for but slowly the colonies they shifted away from it. The French and Indian War completely saw how the colonies and Britain saw each other. When the war was over Parliament was upset the colonies did not provide any financial aid for the war and felt that the colonies did not make up good soldiers even though the colonies felt that they made fine soldiers and they did not need the British Army. …show more content…

They then turned to smuggling goods and in response, Britain came up with the Navigation Acts which restricted the colonies trading to mostly Britain. The Navigation Acts gave the colonies free protection but limited their trade and economic incentive. These made the colonist a little upset but did not really affect their relationship because they were so loosely enforced in a way called Salutary Neglect. The aftermath of the French and Indian War heavily affected Salutary Neglect. Parliament began heavily enforcing the Navigation Acts. They hammered down on