Wars and Unrest in the Colonies

King Phillip's War

The Indians and the people of New England were at peace for 50 years after they had signed a peace treaty. Massasoit, chief of the Wampanoags, had a son named Phillip, whom after he died had broken this treaty and caused all out war with the English. There were many reasons for aggression between the settlers and Indians, these being that the settlers had invaded the land that the Indian's ancestors had owned, their differences in culture, the English livestock encroaching on Indian land, and the struggle for resources and power.

The conflict happened between the second generations of the people of New England and a coalition made up of the Wampanoags, Narragansetts, and Nipmucks. This war lasted from June 24, 1675, to August 20, 1676, which marked the victory of New England over the natives. The results of the war were 600 to 800 deaths on the English side, 1,200 homes were burned by the Indians, 8,000 head of cattle lost. A lot of the natives died in this battle and hundreds more were sold into slavery, and the women and children were used as servants by the colonists.

Some natives, the Christians, were considered enemies by the Indians and the English. This led to some of them being put in camps by the English and some being killed by the other natives.

French and Indian War

In North America during the 1700s, the French and the English were allied to enemy factions of Indians. These alliances that they had let to different conflicts and skirmishes between the two rival factions. The combats in North America also led to conflicts in Europe between the French and Austrians, who were in league against the English and Germans, who were allies. Over time, this led to an all out war in North America between the French and the English forces. One English commander was George Washington. In the end, the English won the war and took over most of the French settlements and land in North America.

The Attempts of Britain to Tax Colonial America

The proclamation of 1763 restricted the English settlers from going further inland and taking more territory. It was issued for two reasons, to keep the English settlers as close to the homeland's authority and because they simply could not afford expeditions. This made the settlers incensed, and they ignored the restrictions and rushed to expand. They also were greatly angered by the taxes placed on them by the British homeland.

In Colonial America, after the victory of the British-Americans against the French settlers in the French Indian War, Great Britain's dept had increased greatly. The Prime Minister of Great Britain decided to start taxing the American exports to make back the money they lost in the war against France's colonies in America. With this in mind, the Navigation Acts were put in place. These acts stated that Americans had to export certain products only to England. Because of these laws, Americans started smuggling to make money and were able to dodge the Navigation Acts' restrictions.

After the failure of the Navigation Acts, a new tax was set in place. The new tax was named the Sugar Act, or the Revenue Act. This act taxed sugar, wine, coffee, and other things imported by the Colonies to help keep the British soldiers in America. This tax also failed because the Colonists decided not to pay it because they were not represented in Parliament.

After all of these failed attempts, the Prime Minister of Great Britain decided to enact the Stamp Act. This act would require American retailers to put stamps on any article made of paper (playing cards, legal documents, etc.). These stamps would conveniently be supplied by stamp merchants. The American colonies didn't like this, so they made the stamp merchants resign their posts, and when the act finally passed, no one was selling stamps in the colonies.