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GKE1 Task 3 Essay

Decent Essays

After Columbus mistakenly discovered the Americas in 1492, European countries were soon setting out to establish themselves in this new world. Spain was first to establish itself in the new world, using their powerful military and their navy. The new colonies were completely dictated by the king of Spain, such one of his policies allowing colonists to use the native tribes for forced labor. France was the second major power to establish itself. Their main focus was fur trapping and fur trading. The French quickly learned to work with the Native Americans. The few French settlers, who did come to America, were focused on fur trapping and trading. Because of this, most French settlements were either military forts or trading posts. England …show more content…

In 1763, the Kingdom of Great Britain had just become victorious over France in the French and Indian War. This victory had come at a great cost, severely straining Britain’s economy and banks. Britain felt that the American Colonists should have to pay some on its debts since most of the war was fought to protect the colonists. Britain soon began passing new taxes such as the Stamp Act of 1765. Colonist thought that it was unfair that they were being taxed since they were not allowed representation in British Parliament. For the following ten years, colonists began to realize that they wanted complete independence from Britain. They issued the Declaration of Independence in July of 1776 declaring themselves independent of Britain. The Colonies were now at full scale war with the mother country of Britain. America did not have grand army like Britain in the beginning and would often employ guerrilla tactics. These tactics often involved ambushing the British soldiers, and then quickly retreating to safety before the British soldiers could inflict too many casualties. Eventually America’s army would grow and train. They would be able to stand toe to toe with Britain, which was considered to have the strongest army in the world at the time. In October of 1781, Britain would surrender after losing the siege of Yorktown. By 1783, Britain and the American Colonies would sign the Treaty of Paris, ending the American Revolution and recognizing America as a country on

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