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Revolutionary War Effects

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The American Revolution is one of the most well-known events in American history, but how is this war described in British history? Surely the tale is told differently in each of the countries due to their different viewpoints. Therefore, in the eyes of the British, how was this war started and what were to lasting effects after it ended. As with many other wars, money played a key role in the start of the War of Independence. During the 1760s the British government experienced a budget deficit and attempted to raise the American colonists’ taxes. Originally their taxes were only one shilling compared to the 26 shillings paid by British citizens (Writer, Leaf Group.). Several well-known laws were put in place to raise taxes on specific items. …show more content…

Boycotts were held against taxed goods when the laws were first out into order, and there was minimal violence until the Stamp Act was imposed. Rebels would assault those who sold goods that were taxed by the Stamp Act and even go so far as to burn down their homes. The Stamp Act was repealed to reduce the crime running rampant in the colonies, although Parliament stated they were still in control of any and all laws in the colonies (“The American Revolutionary War from The British Perspective.”). The colonists reacted as if the taxes imposed on them were robbing them blind even though they still paid less than those living in Britain. Helping pay for their country’s debt was not of importance to them, only their greed and war mongering held significance. Money only made matters more tense as time went on. The Boston Tea Party played a crucial role in starting the war. Crates of tea dumped into the Boston Harbor, Money sinking to the bottom of the ocean, and the result of this “patriotic” act: The Coercive Acts. Deemed the Intolerable Acts by American colonists, they were intended to stop the lawlessness in the colonies by …show more content…

Each time taxes were increases there was a rise in rebellion in the colonies. In order to reestablish control over the colonies Parliament attempted to exercise their authority in the colonies with no challenge to them (Writer, Leaf Group). This further angered rebels in the colonies, using the slogan “no taxation without representation” they continued to boycott taxed goods. This made no sense to Parliament, as many large cities such as Manchester had no representation, yet they did not complain or rebel against their country (“’Iron Tears’”). Resentment grew on both sides as the crown jewel of the British empire began to break away from its dependency on its mother country. Refusing taxed goods, smuggling, and going so far as to destroy British goods. When crates of tea were dumped into the Boston Harbor it was considered a horrendous act, even by some Patriots. The well-known Benjamin Franklin said, “This was an act of piracy and the Americans should repay the British for the tea” (“’Iron Tears’”). Despite the rising rebellion, the British continually attempted to control the colonies, though most attempts failed. The rebellion became rather violent around 1775; Loyalists were being attacked (“The American Revolutionary War from The British Perspective.”). The Patriots would use brutal acts of intimidation such as tarring and feathering any prominent Loyalist they could find. To tar and feather a man

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