Choose One Or More of the Following Options

It is 1764. We are members of the British Parliament. The French and Indian War cost a lot of money. Now the American colonists want us to send 10,000 soldiers to protect them from the Indians. The colonists, mostly from Virginia, keep moving west, even after we approved King George III’s command for a Proclamation Line. The Indians are still fighting these unlawful citizens. The colonists are asking for help. They want us to send soldiers to fight the Indians and to protect them. It will cost a great deal of money to send and keep soldiers there.

British Government’s Opinion British landowners’ and merchants’ opinion

The colonies belong to us. Our merchants This is true, but we cannot pay more taxes! make great profits from selling products to We are paying 1/3 of our income to the them. And it is good for us to control all the government now. Yes, we are profiting from land. We must keep our colonists happy and the colonies, but we cannot afford to pay and safe. more.

British Government: Maybe it is time for the colonies to pay for some of their own expenses. We spent a lot of money on the war. The King told the colonists not to move west. They are disobeying our King. If the colonists keep moving over the mountains, they should pay the costs of protecting the settlers.

How will we raise enough money to protect the colonists and pay for our French and Indian War debts?

Choose one or more of the following options:

[A] Increase taxes on our merchants and landowners.

[B] Collect taxes on products that the colonists buy from us, such as sugar, coffee, wine & cloth.

[C] Ask the colonies to pay for our soldiers to protect them.

[D] Sell some of our land in America to another country, and then use the money to pay our war debts and protect the colonists.

Why did you decide that way? Describe the pros and cons of your decision on your exit slip.