A History of Newfoundland in the North Atlantic to 1818 by Shannon Ryan

Author:Shannon Ryan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Flanker Press
Published: 2012-03-04T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 4

CONSOLIDATION: 1763-1793

The British Empire was at its height following the Seven Years War. Only Spain could boast of a similarly sized empire during the late 1500s and early 1600s and that was because King Philip was also King of Portugal. However, the British Empire post-1763, usually referred to as the First British Empire, was not destined to last long—only twelve years. The American Revolution (also called the American War of Independence) began in 1775 and ended with the independence of the Thirteen Colonies and shortly afterwards the establishment of the United States of America. Thus, the period covered by this chapter is divided into three parts: 1763-75, the period up to the Revolution; 1775-83, the Revolutionary War itself; and 1783-93, the post-war period. The implications for Newfoundland, including, but not limited to, its fisheries, settlement, and infrastructure, will be discussed within these time frames.

Following the Treaty of 1763, the British government issued a proclamation which closed the interior of North America to the American colonists although it did allow limited fur trading in the area. These lands were to be reserved for the Indians as their hunting grounds. The coast of Labrador and the island of Anticosti were placed under the naval governor of Newfoundland. The new British province of Quebec was to include both sides of the St. Lawrence and the Bay of Chaleur and to border on part of New England. This proclamation did not appeal to the Atlantic colonies because local investors had planned to develop the interior—especially west of the Alleghenies and into the Ohio River Valley.

Meanwhile, Britain and its Colonies on the Continent were becoming increasingly irritated with each other. As we have seen, various navigation acts had restrained colonial trade since 1651. The colonies were required to use local or British ships and crews when trading with each other and Britain. The Molasses Act of 1733 placed a high tariff on cheaper imports of foreign molasses and sugar into the colonies. The foreign West Indies produced cheaper sugar because of better soil, allowing for the production of cheaper rum in the Atlantic colonies. But the British were more interested in their own investments in sugar plantations in the Caribbean and wanted their markets in the Atlantic colonies to be protected.

After the integration of New France into the British Empire, two issues arose simultaneously. The Colonies on the Continent no longer feared the French; and the British government needed money to pay for the recent war and for new colonial expenses. Consequently, in order to counteract smuggling, Britain issued writs allowing its officials in the colonies to search for smuggled goods. The Sugar Act, passed in 1764, reduced the tariff on molasses and sugar but broadened the tariff to include many other imports, adversely affecting exports of colonial lumber, flour, cheese, and other farm products to Madeira, the Azores, the Canary Islands, and the French West Indies. Other impositions (from the colonial viewpoint) followed: the Currency Act (1764), the Stamp Act (1765), and the

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