Britain's Relationship with the Colonies: 1700-1763

Mercantilism: How did the British benefit? An economic system in which a country controls trade with its colonies, and exports more than it imports, in order to make a profit How did the British benefit? Britain controlled the price of goods traded to/from the colonies, as colonists could only sell to the British Britain could trade its products with other countries (like Spain or the Netherlands) and its other colonial possessions

How did the colonists benefit? They had a guaranteed market (in Britain) for their goods How did this system hurt the colonists? It prevented them from trading with each other or with other countries directly If they did not have a product that Britain needed, it struggled to get revenue

The Navigation Acts Who implemented them? When were they created? British Parliament (their elected legislature) When were they created? In the 1660’s-1670’s (after the English Civil War) What rules did they create? All trade had to use British-owned ships All imports had to go through British ports Certain products (e.g. sugar, tobacco, lumber, cotton, wool) could only be traded with Great Britain)

The Navigation Acts, continued Why were they created? To maintain British economic control over the colonies Were they well enforced? NO! After an initial tightening of control following the Glorious Revolution, Parliament did not tightly control the colonies, and colonial assemblies mostly governed themselves for the first half of the 18th century Salutary Neglect: The period when the British gov’t (Crown and Parliament) relaxed its control over the colonies, as both sides seemed to be benefitting

The French and Indian War France and its Native American allies Britain/colonists and their Native American allies vs. Part of the larger “7 Years War” between France and Britain Largely about colonial territorial possessions in the area west of the Appalachian Mtns. Britain won, gained land with the Treaty of Paris (1763)

Territorial changes from the Treaty of Paris (1763)

How did the F & I War change British enforcement of the Navigation Acts? Britain went into debt from the war, so Parliament decided to tighten the trade laws After the war, there were more British troops stationed in the colonies, so they could enforce the laws more strictly How was the relationship between the colonists and Great Britain evolving? War against the French had somewhat united the colonies, as they had a common enemy The elimination of France as a threat made them feel less in need of protection from the British