28 Jul 2022

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Great Britain and North American colonies

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Academic level: College

Paper type: Research Paper

Words: 578

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The tension between England and its colonies was primarily economic because of Great Britain's conduct and its position on its status. Britain adopted the notion of mercantilism: that its territories supplied the resources of a nation. There were, therefore, colonies that could only economically sustain their mother country by selling British exports commodities and the entire market. Britain adopted a mercantilism approach after the French and Indian Wars. As it states, "the colonies are generally restrained throughout their foreign trade," as all commodities were "reserved to the British realm" because of mercantilism ( Gould & Phillip, 2020) . This lead to tension and American colonists were quickly influenced in many ways by a vast number of shortages. British economic acts also imposed conflict-related actions. 

The colonial and British military emerged from a source of dispute. Britain's professional troops are commonly believed to have been sent to the colonies for Britain's war success. Nearly 40% of regular soldiers fighting in the war were part of the US. Before and after the battle, American soldiers protested endlessly about Britain's dramatic undervaluation of America's share. For their part, British soldiers argued that colonial soldiers were incompetent ( Bradley & Michael, 2017) . They believed that colonials had no real sense of obligation and were futile to war, except through their terms were fixed, or they were not paid on time, even in the middle of campaigns. These allegations were refuted by Colonial troops, complaining in dealing with the colonials about British ignorance and scorn. 

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Taxation was another central area of conflict. The colonies had profoundly profited from war. British troops' military contracts and expenses had meant an enormous inflow of British capital. It is understandable that after the passing of the law on sugar and currency in 1764, many colonists would be disappointed, which placed more strain on existing taxation thus devaluing the most common currency used in the colony. This annoyed everyone affected and obliged troops who did not represent the colonists to have food and lodging out of a purse. Trade prospered, and many Americans traded in the west Indians of France ( Ricau & Jonathan, 2018) . This trade was illegal during an era of peace and seen in a war against the French as political condemnable, but proved quite lucrative. Meanwhile, the national debt of Great Britain grew to 132 million pounds before the invasion. Britain has levied taxes on many widely traded commodities to fund this debt at home. 

The colonists, however, also felt burdened. After the battle, flourishing colonies had a taste for manufactured products. British imports into the colonies doubled their annual value. When the economic boom of war came to an end, several Americans were obliged to retain their middle-class way of life. British colonial debts rose exponentially, with many suspecting that the British were actively conspiring to enslave the colonists politically. 

The lack of adequate Colonies representation in Britain's Parliament was another reason for tension. The Colonies have been founded under British rule as typical cities. It would not be unjust to presume that they were operating like any other British city, including political independence and representation. The fact that the Colonies weren't being represented in the slightest in Parliament but that laws were being passed at their expense and without their consent significantly raised tensions between the Colonies and Great Britain. If passed at an earlier time, these acts would have been more successful since the Colonies previously relied heavily on Great Britain for protection and economic health in the beginning. However, the last war involving the Colonies ended in 1763, and the Colonies became more and more independent. They no longer felt that their patronage with Great Britain was doing helping more than harming. In a sense, the Colonies gained the ability to have tensions, whereas before it wouldn't have been viable. 

References 

Bradley, M. I. (2017). Incarcerated, Transported and Bound: Constructing Community among Transported Convicts from Britain to the Chesapeake, 1739-1776. 

Gould, P. (2020). Revolutionary Print Culture, 1763–1776.  A Companion to American Literature 1 , 375-392. 

Ricau, J. P. (2018).  The Loyal Colony: West Florida's Dependence on Great Britain During the American Revolution . Southeastern Louisiana University. 

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