Throughout history there has been an abundance of times when people decided what their rights should be and broke free from their loyalty to their ruler. For instance, when the colonies decided that they would no longer follow the British law. King George III violated the colonists basic human rights by unfairly taxing them and the patriots came to the conclusion that following under the England monarchy wasn’t ideal anymore.
Life in the colonies differed in many ways compared to life in England. For over 100 years the colonists lived undisturbed by the English. During that time they began developing their own ideas and learning how to manage their own affairs without the British involvement. After the French and Indian War King George III became very aware of how lenient he was toward the colonies and decided that the colonies were the best way of earning some money after a long expensive war.
One of the first taxation that the British passed through parliament was the Sugar Act in 1764. The sugar trade between the colonies and the French and Spanish West Indies had been very profitable for the colonies. This act made the tax on sugar from the French and Spanish West Indies much higher than it would be from the British West Indies. The British hoped that by enforcing the Sugar Act the colonies would buy from the British Islands or pay the tax. The customs officials were even given more power. They were expected to inflict the tax on sugar throughout the colonies as they had not done before. The colonists felt that these restrictions and those that followed violated their colonial charters and their rights as Englishmen. They argued that they were being taxed by a parliament in which they had no representative. Soon “No taxation without representation” was a saying that traveled the colonies that is still known to this day. In 1765 the British Prime Minister George Grenville persuaded Parliament to pass the Stamp Act and the Quartering Act. The Quartering Act required colonial authorities to provide certain supplies for the British troops stationed in the colonies. The colonists were angered by this; especially by a provision of the act saying that under certain circumstanced, they would have to quarter British soldiers in their homes. The British Government however did not expect the protest that the Stamp Act created in America. In the past, there had been objection to other taxes, but not to the extent evoked by the Stamp Act, never had Americans felt so exploited. Boston became the center of colonial defiance of England’s tax policies. Citizens’ groups called the “Sons of Liberty” …show more content…
Although this Act made the price of British tea lower than any other there was still a tax on the tea. The colonists, on the principle of no taxation without representation, refused to buy the tea. Sam Adams called for an American boycott of tea. The Sons of Liberty enforced the boycott, often with violence against offenders. On December 16, 1773, there were three tea-laden cargo ships from England at anchor Boston Harbor. Several hundred Bostonians, disguised as Indians, raided the vessels and dumped 342 cases of tea into the water. This event is known as the Boston Tea
Life in the colonies differed in many ways compared to life in England. For over 100 years the colonists lived undisturbed by the English. During that time they began developing their own ideas and learning how to manage their own affairs without the British involvement. After the French and Indian War King George III became very aware of how lenient he was toward the colonies and decided that the colonies were the best way of earning some money after a long expensive war.
One of the first taxation that the British passed through parliament was the Sugar Act in 1764. The sugar trade between the colonies and the French and Spanish West Indies had been very profitable for the colonies. This act made the tax on sugar from the French and Spanish West Indies much higher than it would be from the British West Indies. The British hoped that by enforcing the Sugar Act the colonies would buy from the British Islands or pay the tax. The customs officials were even given more power. They were expected to inflict the tax on sugar throughout the colonies as they had not done before. The colonists felt that these restrictions and those that followed violated their colonial charters and their rights as Englishmen. They argued that they were being taxed by a parliament in which they had no representative. Soon “No taxation without representation” was a saying that traveled the colonies that is still known to this day. In 1765 the British Prime Minister George Grenville persuaded Parliament to pass the Stamp Act and the Quartering Act. The Quartering Act required colonial authorities to provide certain supplies for the British troops stationed in the colonies. The colonists were angered by this; especially by a provision of the act saying that under certain circumstanced, they would have to quarter British soldiers in their homes. The British Government however did not expect the protest that the Stamp Act created in America. In the past, there had been objection to other taxes, but not to the extent evoked by the Stamp Act, never had Americans felt so exploited. Boston became the center of colonial defiance of England’s tax policies. Citizens’ groups called the “Sons of Liberty” …show more content…
Although this Act made the price of British tea lower than any other there was still a tax on the tea. The colonists, on the principle of no taxation without representation, refused to buy the tea. Sam Adams called for an American boycott of tea. The Sons of Liberty enforced the boycott, often with violence against offenders. On December 16, 1773, there were three tea-laden cargo ships from England at anchor Boston Harbor. Several hundred Bostonians, disguised as Indians, raided the vessels and dumped 342 cases of tea into the water. This event is known as the Boston Tea