Why did the colonists resent the British government after the French and Indian War?

Answer 1

The British Army and the colonists had fought together to defeat the French and their allies in the French and Indian War (1756-1763). The conduct of the British during the war stirred resentment among the colonists. The British officers treated the colonial officers with arrogant disdain, even though the officers were usually wealthy and well-respected men in the colonies and frequently had more experience in the type of warfare that characterized the French and Indian War. More seriously, when the commanders of the British troops found it difficult to persuade colonial legislatures to allocate money for "quartering" (providing housing for) and supplying provisions to the British soldiers during the war, they had on some occasions forcibly seized private homes to house their troops, a clear violation of British common law. After the war, for the first time during a time of peace, British soldiers were stationed in the cities of the colonies themselves rather than in forts on the outposts of the frontier. Parliament passed the Quartering Act of 1765 requiring the colonial authorities to pay the cost of housing and feeding these troops. Since the colonists had always before supplied their own soldiers when defense was needed and questioned why a standing army was stationed in their midst, they were particularly resentful about paying for the troops' needs. Lastly, as a result of the war, the British government thought it would be appropriate to impose taxes directly on the colonists. With the victory, the British monarchy had gained a huge amount of territory in North America, territory that might bring it much wealth but which would require increased costs for protection against Indian and other foreign attacks: building new fortifications, staffing them with soldiers, and equipping them with weapons, ammunition and other gear. The British were already deeply in debt from the war. The British Parliament passed the Sugar Act of 1764 and the Stamp Act of 1765, the first taxes that the British Parliament had imposed directly on the colonists. Previously, the cost of colonial government had been paid by taxes imposed by the legislatures elected in each colony. The colonists thought the taxes imposed by the Sugar Act and the Stamp Act were unjust, since the colonists had also fought in the French and Indian War, with loss of human lives and livelihoods; the colonies had not benefited from gains in territory as the British monarchy had; and the colonists believed that it was unconstitutional under the British common law for Parliament to levy a tax on colonists when the colonists had no representation in Parliament.

Answer 2

Although the Seven Years' War (French and Indian War) made Great Britain the prominent colonial power in the New World and gave it massive territorial gain, the conflict also incurred a huge debt that the British government was slow to pay off because war reparations from France and Spain were slow in coming. The aftermath of the war put enormous strain on Britain's coffers.

In an attempt to alleviate some of the economic pressure the conflict caused, Parliament passed a series of taxes on both its homeland citizens and the colonists abroad. This angered many of the New World colonists, who felt cheated because they had no say in the passing of said taxes.

On the other hand, Parliament was baffled at what they deemed "childish tantrums" of the colonists because the British government thought the taxes were pretty fair considering the Seven Years' War was fought in the protection and interests of British colonists themselves. It is interesting to note that citizens of London and other cities in the homeland actually payed a significantly higher percentage of taxes for the war than the colonists, and carried the majority of the economic burden.

Answer 3

England began restriting colonial legislatures.

Answer 4

The American Colonists were angry at the British after the French and Indian War because they just won land and the king is forcing (making) them go back to where they were before.