Essay on Colonists Identity

During the time period of 1600 to 1776, the relationship between Great Britain and the colonies changed massively. The relationship between Great Britain and the colonies changed greatly because of three main reasons: the relationships that the colonies and Great Britain were built on, the struggles that the colonists faced because of their relationships with Great Britain, and the anger that the colonists expressed because of the ridiculous taxes that they had to pay. Once the colonists realized that they were suffering under British rule, most of the colonists became eager to be independent from Great Britain. The colonists’ Second Continental Congress believed that the acts and taxes created by the British Parliament were unconstitutional, unjust, and unfair towards the colonists and because of that belief, the Declaration signers forever changed our country.

The reasons behind the sudden transition of England and it’s American colonies from allies to enemies is still debated today. When the colonies were first created they had a somewhat dependent relationship with the British. Trade was regulated through the British homeland while the British provided structure for the developing colonies. As salutary neglect came into play, the colonies became more independent in their ways by developing their own governments and laws. After the French and Indian War, the British economy dropped due to war expenses. The passing of the Stamp Act and all the taxes to follow were an attempt to create revenue for the British. This created tension between the colonists and the British government. The British government caused rebellion by trying to tax the colonists in ways that had not previously been done and by trying to control the colonies more closely than it previously had. The colonies were justified in waging war and breaking away from the British due to the unfair tyrant, burdensome taxes, and the aggressive behavior of the British.

When the colonies were settled, they were allowed to govern themselves, and they remained loyal to England. However, when Parliament and the King tried to rein in the colonies, their ideas of representation clashed. The colonists believed in direct representation in which representatives directly from the colonies would have a say in Parliament. On the other hand, the English believed in virtual representation in which everyone in the British Empire was represented whether or not they were in Parliament. Before representation was ever a problem, these ideas were tolerable, but once these ideas happened upon each, another rift was created between the British and colonies. However, there were divisions occurring in the colonies as well as between Britain and the colonies. For example, when it came time for the colonists to choose to rebel against the stamp act, people chose to either be patriots, neutrals, or loyalists. This made life in the colonies very hectic as not many people believed in the same thing. Overall, political problems played a huge role in disrupting the relationship between England and the

The reason colonists were angry at Britain was because they kept passing acts that the colonists believed restricted their rights as citizens. Some of these included the Proclamation of 1763 – prevented colonists from moving west of the Appalachian Mountains, The Sugar Act – lowered tax on all imported molasses, and the Stamp Act – taxed all printed materials. Next, came the Townshend Act – taxed imported good, like paper and glass, and the Quartering Act – colonists were forced to house British soldiers and provide them with supplies. The Tea Act allowed the British East Indiana Company to be the sole controller of tea trade and to tax the tea as they pleased. Of course, the colonists were still mad about all these new taxes created by the British. To counter-react with the Boston Tea Party from the colonists, Britain passed the Coercive Act to close the Boston Harbor until the ruined tea was paid for. It also prevented all town meetings and gave Quebec all lands west of the Appalachian Mountains.

They reevaluated the way they were operating things, in hopes of increasing the money they were taking in. Britain had a law called the Navigation Act, which prevented colonists from buying products that were not exported from England. However, colonists found ways around this law by bribing officials with one pence or buying the product from merchants who had smuggled in foreign products. Britain then passed the Sugar Act in 1764 which cut taxes on molasses in half, from 6 pence to 3 pence, they hoped to stop the illegal import of other European exports. Colonists, merchants especially, tried to protest but had no unity to do so effectively yet. The Stamp Act the following year, which taxed every piece of paper they printed was enough to unite the colonies. There was a Stamp Act Congress held to organize protests on the new law. Previously, Parliament practiced a policy known as Salutary Neglect, England always had the right to tax the colonies, but never enforced it. Therefore, Americans were used to an untrammeled political life, they began to believe England was going to enslave them, due to the new enforcements being put on

The goals of the colonists during the American Revolution were to become self-governing and to liberate themselves from the oppressive taxation of the British. The colonists wanted the freedom to trade without restrictions. The colonists were angry because they didn’t have Parliamentary representation concerning the new taxes that Britain was imposing. They viewed the British government as corrupt. Massachusetts was the first state to decree that they would stop paying taxes and make provisions for war. In September 1774, the First Continental Congress was formed, a group of delegates from twelve of the thirteen colonies and they discussed talks on how to coordinate the resistance of the Intolerable Acts (Encyclopedia of American History, 2015).

Some of the events that were led to the American Revolution forced the colonies to be mad at the British which surrounded the Seven Years War. One of the main events that happened during the French and Indian war was trading. A lot of the American colonies had to rely on British for supplies and they were unhappy because that was there only way for trade. Britain was trying to control everything and the colonies did not like the way they were governed. An example of this would be mercantilism, and how the British used these colonies to make money so that they could get more resources to make more products. In order for this to work they had to have more land, so they ordered all the colonies to go in a different direction, away from the land.

The period 1750 to 1776 is referred to as the “Road to Revolution”, tension slowly rises between the colonist and England. Most of the first settlers in America came from England and they considered themselves Englishmen. At first they were very dependent on their mother country. The mother country provided money, supplies, and protection. As the colony began to grow the colonist began to see that they were not “British” they were their own people. During the “Road to Revolution” the colonist began to realize that the other colonies all had the same goal in mind and they must become a single and unified nation in order to survive. By the eve of the Revolution the patriotism had built up to such an extent that the colonist believed they could

What started out as a minor conflict concluded with a war for Independence. It all started when the British went to war with the French also known as the French and Indian War. Following their victory in the French and Indian War in 1763, Great Britain took control of the French holdings in North America, outside the Caribbean. The British sought to maintain peaceful relations with those Indian tribes that had allied with the French, and keep them separated from the American frontiersmen. To this end, the Royal Proclamation of 1763 restricted settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains as this was designated an Indian Reserve. Disregarding the proclamation, some groups of settlers continued to move west and establish farms. The proclamation was soon modified and was no longer a hindrance to settlement, but the fact that it had been promulgated without their prior consultation angered the colonists

Congress rejected British plans requiring allegiance to the monarchy and rejection of independence. As a result of protests by colonists, there was the Boston Tea Party in 1773 during which patriots destroyed a batch of taxed tea from the Parliament which controlled and favored East India Company. The people wanted to be heard, they didn’t want to be controlled. The colonists wanted a say in what goes on in their country because that’s why many came to America, they wanted to escape the harsh environment of the tyrants who lead their country.

This evaluation of the current situation in 1625 and future prospects for the further colonization of mainland America will include comments about economic opportunities, living conditions, threats, dangers and motivation of residents who remain committed to American settlement. It will review the situation and future prospects in the Jamestown, Plymouth and Dutch settlement areas.

During this period of time, Britain was a very influential world power, but all too often they abused this power. The colonists that had been sent from Europe knew first hand what it was like to be taken advantage of by the British Parliament. These colonists had spent years creating an infrastructure for future generations and were enraged when King George III sent out unjust acts over the colonies. Neither George III nor the Parliament had a right to force their hand over the colonies. First of all, the colonies did not have adequate representation in Parliament. Next, the colonists did not all originate Britain. Lastly, the colonists had been extremely isolated from Britain, so they had to learn to fend for themselves. Even though Britain

The thirteen colonies that became the USA were originally colonies of Great Britain. By the time the American Revolution took place, the citizens of these colonies were beginning to get tired of the British rule. Rebellion and discontent were rampant. For those people who see the change in the American government and society a real Revolution, the Revolution is essentially an economic one. The main reason the colonies started rebelling against 'mother England' was the taxation issue. The colonies debated England's legal power to tax them and, furthermore, did not wish to be taxed without representation. This was one of the main causes of the Revolutionary War. The Revenue Act of 1764 made the constitutional issue of whether or not the King had the right to tax the thirteen colonies an issue, and this eventually "became an entering wedge in the great dispute that was finally to wrest the American colonies from England" (Olsen, 6). It was the phrase 'taxation without representation' "that was to draw many to the cause of the American patriots against the mother country" (6).

The british were very unfair and very unattractive to the american colonies mostly because of power and money the american colonies just wanted independence and self ruling for their own colony that's why we had the american revolution. In the 1760s, shortly after the conclusion of the french and indian war, the british parliament passed a series of laws and taxes on the american colonies.They created unfair laws and taxes on the british.The colonist disagreed with great britain on the fairness of these laws and taxes which led to conflict between the two sides.Eventually, this erupted into the American Revolution.(doc 1) The american colonies wanted to make there own decisions and have their independence.But the british wanted to rule and make laws and taxes for the american colonies also to punish the americans for their wrong doings.The american colonies do organized protest in spite of these laws and actions.Patrick henry responds to the stamp act patrick says in one of his speeches king George is a tyrant he breaks rules he is a threat to his own people.When Patrick Henry puts that in his speech it really lets you know that what they were doing was wrong and for king George to be leading it makes it even worst because he knows what he is doing and did not really care alongs as the british colonies were getting money for the debt they were in after the French and Indian war.

All through a large portion of colonial history, the British Crown was the main political source that unified all of the American colonies. The Imperial Crisis of the 1770s drove the colonials progressively more toward unification. Americans all through the 13 colonies joined contrary to the new arrangement of royal tax started by the British government in 1765. The fundamental reason the colonies began opposing 'Mother England' was the tax issue, however. The response against tax collection was frequently pageful and the most powerful colonials in the populace resisted outspokenly on the taxation without representation. The Stamp Act of that year enlivened purposeful protection within the colonies against the British. Nine colonial gatherings sent representatives to the Stamp Act Congress, an arrangement that met to facilitate the colonists’ protests to the new acts. In spite of the fact that the Stamp Act Congress was fleeting, it indicated at the improved solidarity and organization among the colonies that would soon take after. In spite of the fact that the colonies managed to pick up a lot of help for the rough Revolution, The citizens of middle colonies were particularly apathetic about this. Among the individuals who supported an adjustment in the government, not every person who joined the revolt favored a violent war. Additionally, Colonial