Britain had just defeated France in the French and Indian War. The treaty that ended the war gave Britain most of France's territory in North America. That territory stretched from the Appalachian Mountains in the east to the Mississippi River and included much of Canada. Most American colonists took pride in being part of the British Empire, which was then the world's most powerful empire. The American Revolution was indeed revolutionary since it declared the independence of America from British tyranny which includes unfair taxes and laws that mainly benefited the British Empire. The Quartering and Stamp acts were passed by Parliament in 1765, again with Grenville's support. The laws were intended to make the colonists pay part of the cost of stationing British troops in America. The Quartering Act ordered the colonies to supply the soldiers with living quarters, fuel, candles, and cider or beer. The Stamp Act required the colonists to buy tax stamps for newspapers, playing cards, diplomas, and various legal documents. Most colonies half-heartedly obeyed the Quartering Act, often providing fewer supplies than requested. But the Stamp Act resulted in riots. Angry colonists refused to allow the tax stamps to be sold. Merchants in …show more content…
It was a bill designed to save the faltering East India Company by lowering its tea tax and granting it a monopoly on the American tea trade. The low tax allowed the East India Company to undercut even the tea smuggled into America by Dutch traders, and many colonists viewed the act as taxation tyranny. On December 16 of 1773, a group of Massachusetts colonists disguised as Mohawk Indians boarded three British tea ships and dumped 342 chests of tea into the harbor, which became known as the Boston Tea Party. After the Boston Tea Party, Parliament responded with the Intolerable Acts (1774), a series of punitive measures that were intended to cow the restive population into
It was the Tea Act. This act stated that only the British East India Company could sell or transport tea. Members of parliament passed this act because many of them had stakes in the company. At the time the British India Company was going bankrupt. This act threatened all colonial businesses by creating a monopoly. In Boston, the colonists devised a plan to resist this act. Several colonists dressed as Indians to deceive the British. These colonists seized the imported tea and dumped it into the harbor. The colonists dubbed this “the tea party.” The British responded to these actions by creating four acts jointly called the Coercive Acts. These acts closed the Boston ports to all trade, increased power of Massachusetts governor, granted trials of royal officials in Massachusetts be tried elsewhere, and allowed the new governor rights to quarter his troops anywhere. These Coercive Acts only angered the colonists more. They have strengthened their non-importation of British goods. They have also begun the forming of local militia companies.
In 1773, Parliament aroused the Americans by passage of the Tea Act. This act, designed to help the East India Company by making it cheaper for them to sell tea in America, was interpreted by Americans as a subtle ploy to get them to consume taxed tea. In Boston, in December 1773, a group of men dumped the tea into the harbor.
Beginning in 1764, Great Britain began passing acts to exert greater control over the American colonies. The Sugar Act was passed to increase duties on foreign sugar imported from the West Indies. A Currency Act was also passed to ban the colonies from issuing paper bills or bills of credit because of the belief that the colonial currency had devalued the British money. Further, in order to continue to support the British soldiers left in America after the war, Great Britain passed the Quartering Act in 1765. This ordered colonists to house and feed British soldiers if there was not enough room for them in the colonist’s homes. An important piece of legislation that really upset the colonists was the Stamp Act passed in 1765. This required stamps to be purchased or included on many different items and documents such as playing cards, legal papers, newspapers, and more. This was the first direct tax that Britain had imposed on the colonists. Events began to escalate with passage of the Townshend Acts in 1767. These taxes were created to help colonial officials become independent of the colonists by providing them with a source of income. This act led to clashes between British troops and colonists, causing the infamous Boston Massacre. These unjust requests and increasing tensions all led up to the colonist’s declaration as well as the Revolutionary War.
The American Revolution marked the historical intensity associated with this great nation. The revolution was multifaceted and was also dynamic in nature as it involved a lot of twists and turns that later shaped the course of the American citizens. There are numerous causes linked with the triggering and commencement of the revolution. The discussion below critically exploits and explores various reasons that led to the start of the revolution.
The Intolerable Acts, otherwise known as the “Coercive” Acts, caused the most unrest among the colonies and led to the American Revolution during the 1700’s. In 1733, Parliament passed the Tea Act. This made it so that colonists could only buy tea from the British East Indies Company. Even though the Tea Act lowered the price of tea, the colonists thought of it as another restriction of their freedom. A group of opposers, dressed as American Indians, threw three-hundred forty chests of tea into the Boston Harbor. The British were enraged and passed the Intolerable Acts. This gave the British all control over Massachusetts and forced colonists to pay back the money for the tea they ruined. Although the Coercive Acts only applied to Massachusetts,
After months of protests Parliament realized their mistake and repealed the tax, but the damage had already been done and the Colonists would start a revolution to separate themselves from the British. On December 16, 1773 the Sons of Liberty, a group of Patriots led by Samuel Adams cut open 340 chests of British East India Company tea, weighing over 92,000 pounds (roughly 46 tons), onboard the Beaver, Dartmouth, and Eleanor and then dumped it into Boston Harbor; a total loss of $1,700,000 dollars in today’s money. Weeks after the ordeal the harbor still had the smell of tea. Until the 340 chest of British Eat India Company tea were paid for the British completely closed off Boston Harbor. The Intolerable act which was meant to punish the actions of the Sons of Liberty. This did not help Colonists’ approval of the British government. The harsh punishments unified the American colonists even more against British rule. The effect the Boston Tea Party had was noteworthy and ultimately sparked the American Revolution which started only two years later in Massachusetts on April 19,
The American Revolution was the uprising of the existing thirteen American colonies to gain independence from Britain in the mid 1700’s. The American colonists began questioning Britain’s authority as early as the French and Indian War. During the French Indian War, the colonies wanted to defend themselves against the French in North America. They asked King George for permission to raise armies in order defend themselves. Although their reason to raise an army was sincere, George II was suspicious of the intentions of the colonial government and disapproved their petition. After the French Indian War, Britain decided to raise money by taxing the American Colonists for reparations. Taxes such as the Stamp and Tea Acts created controversy
The Revolutionary War, America’s conflict with Great Britain, the most powerful country in the world at the time, resulted in the independence of the United States of America. Through a war that lasted just over eight years, a relatively small country, which was actually a largely oversized settlement connected by roads, villages, towns, and cities before they won the war, was able to defeat the British with the help of France along the way. The war was caused by the rebellious reactions of the colonists to the taxes and acts that King George III had put into place to pay for the cost of the French and Indian War. The colonists were angered because of the taxes they were forced to pay for a war that was not theirs. The Revolutionary War proved
The American Revolution politically and economically shaped the development of the country. The British established the Proclamation Line of 1763, that did not allow colonists to settle beyond the Appalachians. The taxes laid on the colonists economically shaped the development of the country. The British laid taxes on the colonies that helped get rid of the huge debt that accumulated from the French and Indian war. This was known as the Stamp Act of 1765.
Accordingly, activist settlers in Massachusetts sorted out the "Boston Tea Party," which saw British tea esteemed at some £18,000 dumped into Boston Harbor. Parliament, offended by the Boston Tea Party and other conspicuous demonstrations of pulverization of British property, authorized the Coercive Acts, called the Intolerable Acts by the homesteaders, in 1774. The Coercive Acts shut Boston to dealer transportation, set up formal British military principle in Massachusetts, made British authorities resistant to criminal arraignment in America and obliged pilgrims to quarter British
With the Quartering Act in 1774 was enacted. Barracks were to house officers and soldiers provided by the American colonies. Though if there was not enough room to house all, it was then stated that the American colonists were to house the soldiers and or officers. Providing them with food, beer and wine. Also to provide the British troops with bedding, utensils, firewood and candles. Another act, the stamp act, soon followed many others. With this act items were to contain a stamp to confirm that the taxes had been paid. Specific examples such as bills of sale, diplomas, pamphlets, newspaper, and marriage licenses. The colonist took action. Refusing to comply with the quartering act, while others voted for only a fraction of the supplies that it had called for. These acts being a physical representation of the lack of respect for American
Though the colonists were angered, they didn't yet protest until the Sugar Act. The Sugar Act was placed in 1764 and as the name implies, it had added many goods to the ‘taxed list’. This affected the colonists quite dearly for this tax was passed during a time of economic depression. It was an indirect tax, but the colonists were still well aware of its presence. Once 1765 arrived, two more laws had been pushed out by King George. This was The Quartering Act of 1765 and the Stamp Act. The Quartering Act declared that the colonists were to house British soldiers and provide for them. Though most of the colonies suffered this, New York was the main victim of this act. The Stamp Act gave a direct tax on newspapers, licences, legal documents, and other business papers. In response to these acts, James Otis, a man part of the Massachusetts legislature, and Patrick Henry, a man who sat in the Virginia House or Burgesses, came together to create The Stamp Act Congress. Leaders from all nine colonies attended this meeting to
The colonists were upset about Parliament and Britain; which lead them to create the American Revolution. The American Revolution was not justified and unreasonable. The colonists were overreacting about Parliament's laws and Britain.
The Tea Act of 1773 helped grant the East Indian Company a monopoly on tea importation. A group of Boston protestors disguised themselves as Indians, boarded a ship with crates of tea on it, and dumped those chests of tea into the harbor of Boston. This event became known as the Boston Tea
The Tea Act of 1773 was a tax on tea but, the British lowered the cost of tea significantly enough that even with the tax, British tea was cheaper than Dutch tea. Also to keep the price down, the British East India Co. got rid of the middleman in the colonies and opened up their own shops. If the colonists bought this tea, they would be accepting the fact that the British could tax without representation. On Dec. 16th 1773 the ships docked at the Boston ports. The Sons of Liberty dressed up as Indians and threw 324 chests of tea into the water. England responded to the Boston Tea Party by the Coercive Act of 1774.