Reluctant Revolutionaries From The British

The Northern Colonies as an Empire of Goods” by T.H. Breen deals with how the economic developments of the 1740s affected the economic relationship between the colonies and Great Britain. Basically merchants started to arrive along with new supplies which led to the colonists to depend on the British. In the beginning they refused to have to go to the merchants so, whenever they were in need of any goods, they would go knocking on their neighbor’s door. The merchants were the last resort. This introduced them to what was almost the opposite of the lineal family. Once the population in the their area started to rise , many picked up and traveled towards west. At this point in time, the British importations increased tremendously.

Economically, the Crown did not provide as much assistance as needed to the colonists of the New World. Trade involved mainly countries other than England, because this way profits were maximized. England, once again, created its colonies for mercantilist reasons: profits and only profits. In reaction to these trade schemes, the Navigation Acts were enforced. Smuggling then grew extremely popular mainly because of price differences and simple convenience. Agriculturally, the main crops were indigo, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton, and rice. Due to high demand, several workers were needed. Through the Triangular trade, raw materials went to England and the Northern Colonies, slaves came to the plantation-dominated areas of the colonies, and manufactured goods went to the West Indies. Molasses was turned into rum in New England and traded for more slaves as well.

As generations grew up in America, nationalism within the colonies grew towards their new country. These settlers slowly lost their patriotic tie to Great Britain and it’s ruler, King George III. So when the French and Indian War ended in America, and the indebted England needed some compensation from American settlers in the form of taxes, the colonists questioned the authority of England and their ability to rule them. British imperial policies such as the Sugar Act of 1764 and the Townshend Tea Tax caused uproar within the colonies against British rule without

The British ideals slowly began to drift away from the American colonist’s ideals after the French and Indian War. The British had only one focus at the time and that was making money. All that King George III wanted from the colonies was pure profit to Britain. The colonies wanted all the freedoms and rights as they had in Britain and it was

In conclusion, the origins and development of Britain’s North American colonies was sustained by the need to stay in economic power. Bacon’s Rebellion, a high demand for cash crops, and an easy purchase of slaves through trade overall introduced and developed slavery to the Americas all while increasing economic status for England and their

One of the important early contributions of the 13 colonies was to grow produce to support the expanding economy in England. The produce that they grew were

(Devore, Lecture #3.) Even though most of the credit was issued from England, it allowed the colonists to buy more things and further strengthen and enhance the cohesiveness of the colonies. By this time the colonies had already well established external trade relationships with both the Indians and other countries. One of their major trade partners was the West Indies, where the colonists procured molasses from which they made rum. (Devore, Lecture #3.) All of these economic developments – consumerism amongst the colonies, Anglicizing of the colonies, the newfound availability and use of credit and the abundance of external trade – play a major role in the reasons that lead up to the American Revolution.

The article, “Economy in Colonial New England” talks about the economy in the New England colony, it says “In contrast to the southern colonies, which could produce tobacco, rice, and indigo in exchange for imports, New England's colonies couldn't offer much to England beyond fish, furs, and naval stores.” The New England colonies used the fishing and the construction of boats to maintain economically. They made soap, clothing and candles. Its exports fish, whale products, boats, wood products, furs, maple syrup, copper, horses, beer and whiskey. They had problems with agriculture, it was difficult to plant wheat because the quality of nutrients on the land was poor, but corn, pumpkins, rye and beans had better

The right of the Legislature of Great-Britain to impose taxes on her American Colonies, and the

The British tried to shoulder some of the financial responsibilities onto the Americas in the form of various taxes during 1763.

     The Stamp Act, however, created much more protest. In 1765, Parliament passed an act requiring the colonists to pay tax stamps on any paper product. The act infuriated colonists because this act was a direct attempt to raise money without the consent of the colonial assemblies. The colonists felt that they were being taxed without representation. With great anger, colonists refused to allow the tax stamps to be sold. Merchants even agreed not to order British goods until the act was abolished. Then, in October of 1765, delegates gathered to discuss the Stamp Act. The Stamp Act Congress stated that the right of taxation belongs only to the people and their elected representatives. Also, they decided that Parliament couldn’t deny their right to trial by jury. They argued that Parliament didn’t have the power to tax them because they had no representatives in Parliament. They denied Parliament’s right to tax them for revenue. The Stamp Act was repealed in 1766, but following that, Parliament passed the Declaratory Act. It stated that the kind and Parliament had full legislative power over the colonies regardless.

When Great Britain controlled the colonies, the Colonists could not live the life they wanted to. They had low paying jobs, were not treated well by the king and his soldiers, and on top of that Britain posted extra taxes on goods. The colonists were already poor from low pay jobs, so taxes just added

Samuel Adams, one of our founding fathers, signee of the the Declaration of independence, and helper of the Boston tea. Samuel is a very respected, honored, and patriotic man in US history.

     In Parliament some members saw how the boycotts endured by the colonists were affecting the British merchants. One member in Parliament saw how the colonists had grown and had united. For whatever reason the British Parliament repealed the Stamp Act, however this did not stop the disagreements about taxation and lack of representation.      In 1774, the Coercive or Intolerable Acts were passed. these were meant to punish the colonists for the evil they had committed, especially to punish the city of Boston for their acts at the Boston Tea Party.

It was easy for the colonists to work around the law, but England did nothing to stop it because trade deals were still happening, and everyone was still making money. This caused Americans to think of their government as equally as powerful as the British bureaucracy. England lost major control over the colonies during the Tradition of Neglect, but they didn’t do anything to stop it. Even though the colonies still considered themselves a part of the British Empire, people understood that they could lead themselves.