Why Is Britain An Influential World Power

The colonies were in a state of turmoil. They had to pay extravagant taxes, but they also were not counted as Britain’s “people.” The colonies tried to obtain peace with documents such as the Olive Branch Petition, but were refused many times. So after many attempts

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

During the time period of 1600 to 1776, the relationship between Great Britain and the colonies changed massively. The relationship between Great Britain and the colonies changed greatly because of three main reasons: the relationships that the colonies and Great Britain were built on, the struggles that the colonists faced because of their relationships with Great Britain, and the anger that the colonists expressed because of the ridiculous taxes that they had to pay. Once the colonists realized that they were suffering under British rule, most of the colonists became eager to be independent from Great Britain. The colonists’ Second Continental Congress believed that the acts and taxes created by the British Parliament were unconstitutional, unjust, and unfair towards the colonists and because of that belief, the Declaration signers forever changed our country.

Many people have the misconception that the American Revolution occurred because British colonists did not want to be British citizens any longer. This may have been the case for a select few, but many British colonists desired to maintain their status as British colonists and citizens. The foremost reason that the colonists began protests, boycotts, and petitions against the British was because they believed their innate rights as British citizens were being violated. The American Revolution occurred due to a chain of events and a complex set of intertwined reasons.

Due to the British tightening their control over the colonies to pay off the huge debt after the French and Indian War, patriots rebelled and started a revolution that would lead to great things. These were colonists who believed that the right to govern themselves belonged to the colonies. Britain had recently gotten into a war in the Americas against France and the Native Americans. Although they won and expanded their American empire, the debt they were in was just about up to their necks. To help solve this problem, they took more control over the colonies. Before the Proclamation of 1763, Britain did not pay much attention to the colonies. However Prime Minister George Grenville needed help to pay off the debt, and the British people were already paying taxes on several of their

It was important for the colonists to leave the British rules, so they no longer have to follow the laws and the punishment of the British . Back when the king had control over America meanings he gets to decide what he can do, he had control of the judges. Control of the judges was critical as it dealt with assigning guilt and innocent in the courts. In addition, the king also had enough power to decide the punishment on the when he or she is guilty party. The British government holds the right to make the colonist to pay more taxes. If they don’t, they can punish them according to the law. Also, on document K the King of Britain, king George the III “has created his own set of laws and now feels that he has a right to force us to give food and shelter to British soldiers, stop us from trading with the rest of the world, and has set up too many taxes for us that we have no choice in paying. He also wants to punish people without a fair trial and jury.” King George had enough power to create all kinds of laws that made it unfair for the colonists to lead prosperous lives. Once the colonists were victorious in overthrowing British rule,

Neither citizens were given any sort of power in government. The king and Parliament of Britain were running rampant without power. The British Constitution stated that there was to be a House of Commons along with a Parliament (Document #1). This was to allow citizens to have power and a say in government. Sir William Meredith, a British politician, referred to Britain as a republic. Thomas Paine, the author of Common Sense, laughed and stated that the government was not worth of that title (Document #1). Thomas Paine understand the entire extent of the king’s overwhelming power. If the House of Commons (the people) was listened to, then the king’s power would have been lessened. The king wanted to be the most powerful and have the last and most important say in all matters. Because of this, the king made sure his power was taken seriously in all spaces of the realm (Document #1). Thomas Paine states that the reason colonists are not retaliating is because they think they have power because they have the House of Commons (Document #1). But what they don’t realize is that their opinion is not listened to. Thomas Paine wanted to pursue the ideas of important figures that were fighting for independence. He attempted to persuade other Americans that were hesitant to join the dream for freedom. He wanted everyone to follow the new nation and its goal to institute a new superior government that will allow them to have more power in say in the

After the French and Indian War, Britain did numerous things to provoke the colonists to revolt against the tyrant king, King George III. The British taxed unfairly and enforced ridiculous laws on the colonists. the colonists rebelled due to anger and disgust toward Britain, and through pride and patriotism toward their future country, they fought for independence. King George III was a cruel and unfair man. He treated the colonists wrongly and ungraciously.

When the colonies were settled, they were allowed to govern themselves, and they remained loyal to England. However, when Parliament and the King tried to rein in the colonies, their ideas of representation clashed. The colonists believed in direct representation in which representatives directly from the colonies would have a say in Parliament. On the other hand, the English believed in virtual representation in which everyone in the British Empire was represented whether or not they were in Parliament. Before representation was ever a problem, these ideas were tolerable, but once these ideas happened upon each, another rift was created between the British and colonies. However, there were divisions occurring in the colonies as well as between Britain and the colonies. For example, when it came time for the colonists to choose to rebel against the stamp act, people chose to either be patriots, neutrals, or loyalists. This made life in the colonies very hectic as not many people believed in the same thing. Overall, political problems played a huge role in disrupting the relationship between England and the

In the American colonies there were many problems that they faced with the British. The colonists had very little say in their lives. The American colonies tried to push this issue with the British but it never worked.

Citizens within the thirteen colonies were happy to be British until they were enraged and threatened. After the French Indian War, King George III was heavily in debt. In order to off this debt, he imposed “taxation without representation” on the thirteen colonies. In protest, the colonies raided a ship full of tea and tossed it overboard; which is now known as the Boston Tea Party. This made King George III furious and he sent soldiers to oppress the citizens within the colonies. The last straw was struck when King George III ignored the Olive Branch Petition. Citizens within the colonies were living under a monarch that was exploiting them economically, threatening their own security, and ignoring their own wishes.

The first colonists arrived in the early 1600’s. As generations of colonists grew up in the new world they began to think of themselves as Americans rather than English citizens. In this same time period England began to think of the colonists as subjects rather than English citizens. This lack of respect for each other lead to distrust and the feeling of resentment, blaming each other for their troubles. The English blamed the Colonists for the cost of defending Britain’s interests in the new world and protection against invaders. On the other hand, the colonists felt the taxes imposed on them were excessive and used to pay off all of England’s debts, not just the ones rightfully owed for their defense.

The history leading up to the American Revolution is very interesting. The aftermath of the French and Indian war played a big role in what began the colonists dissent against Great Britain. At the start of the war the colonist were glad that the redcoats were there to protect them but after the fall of Washington at Fort Necessity they started to feel disappointed towards them. After the war, Great Britain, although they won, was left with huge amounts of debt. Because of the cost to train troops and the debt the British wanted the colonist to pay their fair share. The colonists were not happy with this, although the Great Britain paid most of the debt itself. Another factor was the Quartering Act(1765). It said that the colonists were responsible for finding or

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.

In addition, the British did not consider those living in their colonies, or in other colonies, as citizens who should be represented in the British Parliament. Therefore, the colonist’s people’s demands were disregarded. For example, even though the colonies wanted full rights as British citizens, the British refused to do so. Thus, the colonies had less political power compared to the people in Europe. In addition, since the British were not able to agree to the colonist’s prime demand, the colonies developed a separate and unique “American” identity. Therefore, over a period of time, colonists went from viewing themselves