Table of Contents
How British Colonists Evolved
In the 18th century, Britain had established various colonies in most parts of North America. American colonists regarded themselves as citizens of Britain and fully swore allegiance to King George III and his subjects. Britain was successful in tying them down by means of trade and governing methods they subjected to Americans. Through the restriction of trade activities, Americans fully relied on Britain for domestic supplies and imported goods (Raphael, 2016). The number of banks was limited; thus colonists advocated for barter trade and credit to have possession of goods they needed.
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Raphael states that due to the presence of the Indian and French War, Britain was eager to expand its colony to the territories at the west. King George implemented the 1763 Proclamation to restrict settlements at the Appalachian Mountains and beyond; thus ordering original settlers to stretch to the east (2016). Other than compelling the colonies to pay lodging for British soldiers, they were also taxed to raise money to carter for war debts. Keene, Cornell & O’Donnell, (2012) illustrate that “to pay for these costs, Britain adopted a new set of policies for America including new taxes and more aggressive ways of collecting them” (Chapter 4). The American colonies began to resist paying taxes as they were not comfortable with new tax laws that were being passed by the English Parliament. They began to hold protests stating that tax laws violated their rights as citizens of Great Britain.
Causes of American Revolution
During the era of King George III, many amendments were carried out with regards to governance of its colonies in America. These colonists began to hold protests in attempts to uphold their rights as citizens of Great Britain, which were being violated by military oppression and over-taxation. Keene, Cornell & O’Donnell, (2012) state that “the colonies viewed these policies as an ominous first step in order to deprive them their liberty” (Chapter 4).The series of protests all over the colonies by citizens of Britain lead to a sporadic revolution by Americans seeking to free themselves from all kinds of oppression. Other reasons that led to the eruption of the American Revolution were the rise of intolerable acts, the battle for concord and Boston Tea Party (Raphael, 2016).
- Keene, J. D., Cornell, S. T., & O’Donnell, E. T. (2012). Visions of America: A History of the United States, Volume Two. Pearson Higher Ed.
- Raphael, R. (2016). A People’s History of the American Revolution: How Common People Shaped the Fight for Independence. The New Press.