Many of the reasons the American colonies believed they were justified in their rebellion from England lay in trade and taxes. When George III inherited the throne at the end of the Seven Years’ War England’s debt had risen to 145 million pounds and his chief minister believed that the American colonies needed to help shoulder the debt. (Nash, et al., 2007. , p. 134) In attempting to collect these taxes from the colonies to relieve the mounting debt Parliament passed a range of acts, which led to discontent among the colonists as many of them restricted trade, their political maneuverability and left many believing they infringed upon their “right to be taxed only by their own consent.”
Both New England and the Chesapeake region were colonized by people of English origin, however despite this they developed into two very distinct societies. This difference in development can be rooted back to the geographic features of the respective areas as well as the aspirations of the settlers. New England was primarily devoted to practicing Puritanism while the Chesapeake region was focused on financial gain from gold and, more significantly, tobacco. New England was mostly settled by people who were subjected to religious persecution for practicing English Reformed Protestantism, or more commonly known as Puritanism, in Catholic Europe. These such people, who boarded the Weymouth for example, included families and their servants
The French and Indian War can be argued to have the most effect on altering the relations between Britain and the Colonies. The relationship between these two power houses began very subtle, as England followed through with a policy of salutary neglect toward the Colonies. The consequence of the war caused the Political and the Economic state of Britain to changed dramatically, causing them to act differently towards the Colonies. This made the Ideologies of the colonies change greatly. Becoming a winner of a mass of land was great to reward to Britain, but this caused them to change the way that they were going to govern, especially in North America.
1. Nathaniel Bacon was a wealthy Cambridge educated English aristocrat who arrived in Virginia in 1674 after a scandal in England. His family sent him to Virginia where he received a substantial land grant and a seat on the council by his cousin by marriage Governor Sir William Berkeley. Bacon became angry when Berkeley refused him a commission to lead a campaign against the Indians.
At the dawn of the 1770s, American colonial resentment of the British Parliament in London had been steadily increasing for some time. Retaliating in 1766, Parliament issued the Declaratory Act which repealed most taxes except issued a reinforcement of Parliament’s supremacy. In a fascinating exchange, we see that the Parliament identifies and responds to the colonists main claim; Parliament had no right to directly tax colonists who had no representation in Parliament itself. By asserting Parliamentary supremacy while simultaneously repealing the Stamp Act and scaling back the Sugar Act, Parliament essentially established the hill it would die on, that being its legitimacy. With the stage set for colonial conflict in the 1770s, all but one
Bacon’s Rebellion is well known to students of colonial America, although no-one has succeeded in writing a convincing account of it. The first question historians asked was who was responsible for the widespread anarchy that followed the breakdown of government authority in the colony between 1676 and 1677. One historian attributes the rebellion to Nathaniel Bacon, and describes Governor Berkeley as a man doing his best to implement sensible policies. Another sees the Rebellion as prefiguring the American Revolution, with Bacon as an early George Washington, already defying British authority.
Soon after the items were taxed the people would stop buying them. That’s what made the merchants mad! The reaction to the king was to tax even more items without the consent of the colonies permission. An example of an item that was taxed without permission of the people was the, Stamp Act.
The Navigation Acts restricted foreign trade to competition with other countries, while reducing the chances of the colonies becoming an independent nation; in addition, all British products that were to be sent to the colonies were heavily taxed in order to create more profit. The Sugar Act placed tax on sugar, wine, and coffee, and denied any colonist accused of smuggling trial by jury, eventually leading to a drastic plummet in the rum industry. Finally, the Stamp Act, an act that was passed without the consent of the colonists, that taxed any paper or document in order to gain money from the colonists for Britain, ultimately leading to the colonists revolting against Britain, and writing newspapers that promoted the idea of independence from the imperialist nation that had repeatedly denied them their liberty, democracy, and
Settling in the New World provided both the American settlers and the British government with many opportunities. For the colonists, North America provided an opportunity to improve their lives and escape religious persecution. For the British, settlers in North America provided access to raw materials and new markets in which to sell finished goods. This mercantilist relationship continued for several years, until the colonists began to question Parliament’s right to treat them differently than other British citizens. Taxes were imposed on the colonists as a means of helping to pay the debt Britain had incurred fighting the French.
Lastly, the British cut off trade for the colonists. Which is another right the colonist did not have, where that the colonists could not trade with other countries because the goods were only supposed to come form England. The colonists grew tabacco and other goods but could not trade them. This led the colonists to rely on England for goods and the British taxed them on it.
As expected, Britain put certain taxes on the colonies to help regulate trade and pay for transport of goods. However, many of the taxes Britain put on colonists were for the sole purpose of creating revenue for the British (Doc 2). The reason the British believed they were justified to do this was the belief that colonists still owed reparations for British support in the French Indian war (Doc 1). The colonists found these taxes so insulting that many of them refused to purchase British goods.
The influence of the enlightenment on the American Revolution In 1607, Great Britain established their first colony on today’s Virginia. Great Britain continuously increased number of North America colonies; in 1754, number of colonies was as much as 13. To increase number of colonies, Great Britain fought numerous wars, won most of the wars and became one of the most powerful nations in the world at that time. How dare only 13 colonies could stand up to unfair treatment and various kinds of taxes payment?
It doubled the taxes on foreign goods that were reshipped from England to the colonies. It also prevented the import of foreign rum and French wines. The English Parliament also passed a law to reorganize the American
The development of slavery and self-government in the Americas from the colonial to the revolutionary period presents two main contradictions which are important not in setting the stage for the American Revolution but also help to establish division between the colonies after the Revolution leading into the Civil War. While one contradiction applies exclusively to the Northern colonies, the other applies to all the colonies and is a key factor leading up to the American Revolution. For the New England colonies, the contradiction between the development of slavery and self-government lies behind the reason these colonies were developed. Around 1608, the Separatists, beginning to receive more hostility from the Anglican Church and government
All their freedom they previously had was being reduced. They had to pay several taxes on things such as stamps and sugar. The Navigation Act forced the colonies to only trade with England, which prevented the smuggling. Many of the colonies became bitter about the price and in some cases England would lower the taxes. The colonies often threw a fit and revolted.