What Was the Result of the French and Indian War?
As a result of the French and Indian War, Britain received Florida from Spain and Canada from France, while France maintained its West Indies colonies and Spain received Louisiana from France. However, the war also caused significant debts in France and Britain that eventually spurred revolutionary changes.
As a result of the new territory that Britain gained in North America, settlers from its 13 colonies began to move west, putting pressure on the Native American populations there. With France’s departure from the Louisiana territories, the indigenous peoples had lost an important ally, which made them vulnerable to attacks and land confiscation from these settlers. When the British attempted to restrain the colonists, they responded with anger, creating tension that contributed to the American Revolution.
The debts that France and Britain incurred to win the war exacerbated instability both at home and in the colonies. To pay for the war, the British government began to increase taxes on the American colonies. These taxes caused anger and resentment among the colonists, who had gotten used to the previous British policy of “benign neglect.” This anger also contributed to the American Revolution. In France, the debt weakened the financial position of the king’s government, a weakness that ultimately forced him to accept the demands of the revolutionaries who rebelled against the monarchy in 1789.
