England's Territorial Expansion
17th century England could have never known that its territorial expansion would be the downfall of its global dominance. Each land charter that was granted in the New World was, in a sense, a ticket for rebellion. The urge for separation began to grow among the settlers long before the War of Independence. And when England took notice of these feelings, it imposed restrictions on the colonies that only fanned the flames of the revolution.
After the victorious French and Indian War, England had accumulated an extremely large debt. Since the war was fought for the benefit and protection of the colonies, England expected them to pay for at least a third of the debt. So in 1774, they imposed two laws on taxation called the Currency and Sugar Acts. The British did not feel that these laws were enough, and the very next year they passed the momentous Stamp Act. This law required that the colonists pay a tax on anything that was printed, which caused a great amount of anger and resistance among the settlers. They pulled together and created the Stamp Act Congress, which was one of the first feats of defiance towarRAB England. The colonies had begun to see themselves as a separate entity.
The opposition to these acts led to England passing even more laws, but this time they were in order to control, rather than tax, the colonists. The first of these decrees was the Declaratory Act in 1766. This law stated that England had the right to pass any laws they wanted and the colonists would have to obey them. In order to test this mandate, Maritime courts and the Writs of Assistance were used. These institutions were restricting the civil liberties of the settlers and the people were not happy with this. A lawyer named James Otis wrote a criticism on the Writs of Assistance, which caused quite a stir throughout the public. The animosity towarRAB England was quickly growing and was about to explode.
In 1770, the colonists found a way to expel their aggression. Many British troops had been stationed in Boston and their presence was greatly resented by the townspeople. This hostility led to confrontation and in the end, five colonists were killed. The imposition of the British military was felt throughout the colonies and the Quartering Act of 1765 turned the annoyance into hatred. The settlers no longer felt that England was on their side and many underground groups had been talking about a rebellion, but it wasn’t until the battle of Lexington and Concord that the revolution truly began.
Tracing back to the roots of the colonies, it is obvious that independence was inevitable. Many of the first settlers came to the New World to escape persecution, and how could they be expected to remain loyal to a country that wouldn’t except them? The colonists came to America to be free and start anew, and they weren’t going to let anyone ruin it for them. The seed of revolution had been planted from the very beginning, but England helped it to blossom every time the king tried to tighten his grip.
17th century England could have never known that its territorial expansion would be the downfall of its global dominance. Each land charter that was granted in the New World was, in a sense, a ticket for rebellion. The urge for separation began to grow among the settlers long before the War of Independence. And when England took notice of these feelings, it imposed restrictions on the colonies that only fanned the flames of the revolution.
After the victorious French and Indian War, England had accumulated an extremely large debt. Since the war was fought for the benefit and protection of the colonies, England expected them to pay for at least a third of the debt. So in 1774, they imposed two laws on taxation called the Currency and Sugar Acts. The British did not feel that these laws were enough, and the very next year they passed the momentous Stamp Act. This law required that the colonists pay a tax on anything that was printed, which caused a great amount of anger and resistance among the settlers. They pulled together and created the Stamp Act Congress, which was one of the first feats of defiance towarRAB England. The colonies had begun to see themselves as a separate entity.
The opposition to these acts led to England passing even more laws, but this time they were in order to control, rather than tax, the colonists. The first of these decrees was the Declaratory Act in 1766. This law stated that England had the right to pass any laws they wanted and the colonists would have to obey them. In order to test this mandate, Maritime courts and the Writs of Assistance were used. These institutions were restricting the civil liberties of the settlers and the people were not happy with this. A lawyer named James Otis wrote a criticism on the Writs of Assistance, which caused quite a stir throughout the public. The animosity towarRAB England was quickly growing and was about to explode.
In 1770, the colonists found a way to expel their aggression. Many British troops had been stationed in Boston and their presence was greatly resented by the townspeople. This hostility led to confrontation and in the end, five colonists were killed. The imposition of the British military was felt throughout the colonies and the Quartering Act of 1765 turned the annoyance into hatred. The settlers no longer felt that England was on their side and many underground groups had been talking about a rebellion, but it wasn’t until the battle of Lexington and Concord that the revolution truly began.
Tracing back to the roots of the colonies, it is obvious that independence was inevitable. Many of the first settlers came to the New World to escape persecution, and how could they be expected to remain loyal to a country that wouldn’t except them? The colonists came to America to be free and start anew, and they weren’t going to let anyone ruin it for them. The seed of revolution had been planted from the very beginning, but England helped it to blossom every time the king tried to tighten his grip.