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This war between Great Britain and France over control of the North American colonies had a significant impact on the lead-up to the American Revolution. It not only led to a huge increase in Britain's national debt but also resulted in tensions with the American colonists, who were heavily taxed to help pay for the war.
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In the wake of the French and Indian War, the British government issued the Proclamation of 1763, which prohibited American colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains.
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The Stamp Act imposed a direct tax on printed materials in the American colonies, such as newspapers, legal documents, and playing cards. Colonists vehemently opposed "taxation without representation" and engaged in widespread protests, boycotts, and the famous Stamp Act Congress.
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On March 5, 1770, a confrontation between British soldiers and a mob of colonists in Boston resulted in the deaths of several colonists. This event further fueled anti-British sentiment in the colonies and intensified calls for independence.
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In protest of the Tea Act, which granted a British tea company a monopoly on tea sales in the colonies, a group of colonists disguised as Mohawk Indians boarded British ships in Boston Harbor on December 16, 1773, and dumped an entire shipment of tea into the harbor. This act of defiance against British taxation and trade policies escalated tensions and prompted punitive measures from the British government.