The French and Indian War was a significant turning point for the continental British colonies and their mother country, Great Britain. Not only did the French and Indian War establish British dominance over the French presence in North America, it also set forth the series of events in which the colonies began to break away from King and Parliament. Although the colonists had a strong sense of nationalism for Great Britain before and during the French and Indian War, after Britain 's victory, the economic, social, and political structures in the colonies began to change; shifting colonial views. The colonies were a product of a mercantile system set in place by Great Britain to expand their imperial empire. Thus, trading and commerce were …show more content…
The economic and social structure changes after the French and Indian War inevitably lead to political structure change. Before the war, colonists had, for the most part, their own self-government with little participation by British officials. Royal governors were appointed for most southern states, however their roles were limited. After the war, Great Britain attempted to give more power to British officials so that they could enforce the laws of trade and taxes more prominently. The growing idea of Liberty in the colonies also brought a realization to the colonists that they were in need of "actual" representation in Parliament instead of the "virtual" representation they were given. Actual representation was the principle that, a representative, elected by the people of that region, was to be put into Parliament to speak on behalf of their region. Whereas virtual representation did not give the opportunity for representatives to be elected by the people of that region, representatives would be assigned to specific regions whether they were familiar with that region or not. Along with actual representation, the end of the French and Indian War gave way to the ideology of a meritocracy, which based itself on the belief that power was to be given by merit not blood. The ideology of a meritocracy veered the colonists in a direction that left behind the British system of a