I can see that the Boston Merrimans are Patriots. A feeling begins to grow in my heart: sympathy for the Patriot cause.
By 1755, there were nearly two million British living in the thirteen colonies. The colonies were: Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts Bay, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, and Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.
These colonists weren’t the only Europeans who had claimed land in the New World. There were also sixty thousand colonists from France living in North America. Although this was a much smaller population than the British colonists, the French controlled a lot of land.
French settlers were very interested in North American furs, because they knew that furs from beaver, bear, fox, and mink would sell for a lot of money in Europe. As a result, the French formed important friendships with the Ottawa, Shawnee, and other Indian tribes, who trapped the animals or traded with other tribes for the pelts. The French bought the furs from the Indians and sent them on ships back to Europe, where they were sold for a nice profit.
Indians trading with French settlers
As the fur trade grew, the French started to claim more land in North America. But the British wanted that land, too. Small skirmishes broke out between the two nations. In 1754, war was declared.
At first, it looked as though the French would win the war. They had a bigger army in the New World, and many Native Americans fought on their side. For the first four years of the war, the French and Indians won battle after battle against the British. The members of the British government, however, didn’t seem too concerned. Back in Britain, the feeling was “Let Americans fight Americans.”
But one British statesman, William Pitt, saw the importance of winning the war that had become known as the French and Indian War. He eventually convinced Parliament, the name for the British government, to put him in charge of the war and to give him all the money he needed.
That was the turning point in the conflict. Pitt took advantage of the fact that Britain was much richer than France at the time. The British Royal Navy was also far superior to the French navy. And the British colonies themselves were a major source of food as well as fighters. Soon the tide of war had turned in Britain’s favor. Some Shawnee Indians even decided to switch sides to fight with the British.
On September 8, 1760, the French soldiers, along with their remaining Indian allies, laid down their weapons and surrendered.
It took three years for Britain and France to work out the terms of the surrender, but finally, on September 3, 1763, the Treaty of Paris was signed. France had to give up almost all the land it had claimed in North America.
It was a major victory for Britain. And many back home assumed it meant that the flag of Britain would fly over the British colonies in North America forever.
However, the war had left Britain with enormous debts. Parliament came up with a solution: It would tax the colonists to make up the debt. After all, Parliament reasoned, if not for the British military, the colonists would all be under French rule now.
Yet the colonists did not see it that way. They had fought hard and bravely to defend their lives and liberty. Many believed that they would do just fine without the support of the mother country. The fact that Britain now expected them to pay for that support was more than they could bear.
Just outside Uncle George’s house is a handbill nailed to a tree trunk. It says angry things about the king of England and the tea tax, and announces a public meeting to discuss what to do about the shipload of tea in the harbor. It almost seems as if the people of Boston are itching to stir up trouble.
I can’t help thinking of my grandfather, whom we visit every summer. Grandfather was born in England and came to the Virginia colony as a young man. He loves the king of England and is loyal to him. He says that although we live in America, England is our mother country, so we are all British subjects and should feel proud and glad to be so. Grandfather would not like the critical things that the people of Boston are saying about our mother country. Charles told me that some people have even started to secretly say that we should break free and declare our independence from Britain.
I know that Grandfather would call that treason. Oh, it is all so confusing! Grandfather loves and respects the king, and I love and respect Grandfather—but I am not sure I can agree with him. Still, I believe that we can be on different sides of the matter, and still love each other.
The rulers in Britain didn’t listen to the colonists. They wanted to collect more money from them—no matter what! On April 5, 1764, Parliament passed the Sugar Act. The act put a tax on sugar and molasses that were brought in from non-British foreign colonies. The act also lowered the tax on sugar and molasses that were brought in from British colonies. This meant that the colonists had to buy these goods from the British West Indies, or pay more money in tax. Or the colonists could smuggle in sugar and molasses.
But there was a problem: The Sugar Act cracked down on smuggling, making it harder to sneak in the goods. So the colonists were forced to buy from the British West Indies. The colonists, however, did not think that the British West Indies could produce enough molasses
