This came as a surprise to the colonists, which began a major debate that eventually lead to the Revolutionary War. It explains how many of the colonists were converted from citizens who were proud members of the British Empire, to people who took up arms against that same empire. The Parliament was given many reasons on why they were able to legally tax the colonists even though the colonists were not able to elect any of the members of the Parliament themselves. The British believed in something called virtual representation; meaning that members of the Parliament virtually represented all parts of the empire, rather than representing the interests of a specific district or region. Thus, meaning that the colonies are being represented in
