Origins And Causes Of The American Revolution

2) The British Government exercised over its colonies during the 17th and 18th century in a variety of ways. The British strongly believed in the economic theory of mercantilism. This theory stated that a countries economic wealth could be measured by the amount of gold and silver in its coffers. In Britain’s eyes, the colonies were meant to supply the crown with raw materials.

Also, the British could search any ship they wanted, so they didn’t let us receive sugar from other countries. The Stamp Act also was very unfair. This was when England made the colonists only buy paper with the English stamp on it. Every paper product had to be made out of it, and this special paper had a heavy tax on it.

The need to position British troops along the Indian border to protect the settlements contributed to the debt that England had even more. The colonial assembly implied that England would not be able to count on the colonial governments' help and that the only way that England could actually get support for their debt is to implement a system of taxation. During this period of time the king was George III and his prime minister was George Grenville. George III had limitations in his thinking capacity and also limitations in his psychological features that affected his politics. George Grenville as prime minister was responsible for the issues regarding the colonies.

Parliament then passed the Declaratory Act, which gave Parliament the right to "to bind the colonies in all cases whatsoever. " This gave Britain the right to govern the colonies. When this act was passed the colonialists grew more furious toward England with the Stamp act revoked, the next act that angered the colonists the most was the Mutiny Act of 1765, which ultimately required colonists to provide shelter and support British troops. The colonists were not only angry at the fact that they had a British troop invading their homes, but their were even more upset that Britain was forcing them to. On June 1767, Parliament passed the Townshend Acts.

The Purpose of the Navigation Acts was to encourage British shipping and allow Great Britain to retain the monopoly of British colonial trade for the benefit of British merchants. The

The role the American Colonies had within the British mercantilist system was one similar to being a slave. They would provide products to the British so they could export them to other countries and not receive the proper value for their products. . England tried to control all products that were imported to the colonies as well. They created acts that would prevent the import of any product that was made in England. With these export and import regulation England had a monopoly set up over the colonies.

The American Revolution was a political upheaval that took place between 1765 and 1783. This was when the United States of America was founded as result of the thirteen American colonies rejecting the British rule. One of the turning points that led to the Revolution was the Boston Tea Party of December 1773. This historical event gave birth to many schools of thought and interpretations in the preceding years. Today, there is still debate on the true cause or the American Revolution or what was the most critical in causing the revolution such as the Whig interpretation and the Progressive interpretation.

For years the English crown neglected the American Colonies and did little to impose British tariffs and laws on the territory. This created an environment of self-sufficiency and an atmosphere of opportunity and independence. The colonies to a certain extent were able to govern themselves and established many of their own taxes and courts of law.

The original thirteen British/American colonies were all unified under one higher government (Parliament), however, every single colony was completely different by means of agriculture/production, founding government, and human resources. The most important cause that made each colony different from one another is agriculture – shaping how a colony functioned and formed overall. Proprietary colonies dominated the New England colonial landscape between 1660 and 1685, as “…powerful aristocrats could govern largely as they wished as long as they conformed broadly to English traditions.” (pg. 67), which allowed every colony to rule differently. These New England colonies had one goal in mind – mercantilism.

For instance, “They (Parliment) have undertaken to give and grant our money without consent, though we have ever exercised an exclusive right to dispose of our own property; statutes have been passed for extending the jurisdiction of courts of Admiralty and Vice-Admirality beyond their ancient limits:(Document 5)” This shows that the governing bodies, Admiralty and Vice Admiralty, had overstepped their boundaries with them managing the colonies money although they already had been financing their own funds. This overstepping of boundaries was important as those in America didn't want to be overruled by

92). However, American colonists reacted by finding ways around these policies or blatantly disregarding their enforcement. The Navigation Acts were negated through a loophole that allowed Americans to transport goods through privately owned ships (Henretta and Edwards, 2012, p. 93). Additionally, Americans sold produce to the French sugar islands, forcing British products off the European market (Henretta and Edwards, 2012, p. 93). Britain responded to the colonist’s attempts to avoid taxes by implementing further tariffs.

What Caused the American Revolution The American Revolution was a battle for leadership in the American colonies. At the time, England controlled nearly all aspects, mostly the political and economic, of the colonial lives. Their purpose was to strengthen England. The colonies wanted the freedom from all of the control because they were doing fine without England.

The Admiralty courts were set up to try colonists for buying products from different countries other than Britain. The Admiralty Courts were run by the British Navy. Prime Minister George Grenville also set the Navy to enforce the new tax and the shipping regulations. The Sugar Act raised the issue of unfair taxation. Since the American colonies are one of the few that would buy sugar from the British West Indies, the Sugar Act really only applied to the colonists and not the other British citizens.

The American Revolution (1700-1790) was a historical event in time, where the Thirteen Colonies that became the United States of America, gained independence from the British Empire. Many historians would agree that the Revolution was caused by events and the growing differences between the colonists and England. The cause of the American Revolution could be summarized in the saying ‘liberty vs. tyranny’. The American Revolution was a struggle by liberty-loving Americans to free themselves from a dictatorial British rule. In this period, the Colonies protested against the British Empire and entered into the American Revolutionary War, also known as the American War of Independence.

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.