British territorial holdings now extended from Canada to Florida, and British military focus shifted to maintaining peace in the king’s newly enlarged lands. Under the terms of the Treaty of Paris, the French territory known as New France had ceased to exist. With the end of the French and Indian War, Great Britain claimed a vast new expanse of territory, at least on paper. Everyone would have to contribute their expected share, including the British subjects across the Atlantic. Parliament had to find ways to raise revenue to pay off the crippling debt from the war. Greater enforcement of imperial trade laws had to be put into place. The frontier had to be secure in order to prevent another costly war. The massive debt the war generated at home, however, proved to be the most serious issue facing Great Britain. The most organized resistance, Pontiac’s Rebellion, highlighted tensions the settlers increasingly interpreted in racial terms.
After the 1763 Treaty of Paris that ended the French and Indian War (or the Seven Years’ War), British colonists had to defend the frontier, where French colonists and their tribal allies remained a powerful force. During the war, many Indian tribes had sided with the French, who supplied them with guns. From Maine to Georgia, British colonists joyously celebrated the victory and sang the refrain of “Rule, Britannia! Britannia, rule the waves! Britons never, never, never shall be slaves!”ĭespite the celebratory mood, the victory over France also produced major problems within the British Empire, problems that would have serious consequences for British colonists in the Americas. Colonial pride ran high to live under the British Constitution and to have defeated the hated French Catholic menace brought great joy to British Protestants everywhere in the Empire. British subjects on both sides of the Atlantic celebrated the strength of the British Empire. The long and costly war with France had finally ended, and Great Britain had emerged victorious. Great Britain had much to celebrate in 1763. (credit “1765”: modification of work by the United Kingdom Government)