“Niagara at most should be my furthest Post in that quarter . . . By this Means we may keep up a Trade with the most distant Nations, retain their good Opinion, and totally prevent any Jealousy of our intending them any ill. . . . As we increase in Numbers on this Continent, it’s easy and Safe to advance our settlements in Townships, though this I would do only by Cession or by Purchase of the Lands to prevent the Shadow of an Excuse for the Indians to quarrel with us.”

Question

-Source: Colonel William Eyre, as printed in The First Global War: Britain, France, and the Fate of North America, 1756-1775, 1764
The ideas expressed in the excerpt emerged most directly from a larger debate over British Parliament’s decision to:
Choose 1 answer:
Choose 1 answer:
(Choice A) limit westward expansion beyond the Appalachian Mountains.
A
limit westward expansion beyond the Appalachian Mountains.
(Choice B) force neighboring indigenous nations to convert to Christianity.
B
force neighboring indigenous nations to convert to Christianity.
(Choice C) tax British-made goods, making them more expensive for the colonists.
C
tax British-made goods, making them more expensive for the colonists.
(Choice D) declare war on the French over territorial boundaries.
D
declare war on the French over territorial boundaries.

Answer 1

The ideas expressed in the excerpt from Colonel William Eyre most directly emerge from a larger debate over British Parliament’s decision to:

(Choice A) limit westward expansion beyond the Appalachian Mountains.

This selection is supported by Eyre's comments on maintaining trade with distant nations, retaining good relations with indigenous peoples, and advancing settlements carefully through cessions or purchases to avoid conflicts. These concerns link directly to the British government's attempts to regulate expansion after the French and Indian War, particularly with the Proclamation of 1763, which restricted colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains to prevent conflicts with Native Americans.