Causes Of The American Revolution
Every major historical event has a precursor. For example, the Russian Revolution began with the mutiny on the cruiser Aurora. Likewise, it is believed that the famous Boston Tea Party was the symbolic event that sparkled the American War of Independence.
The conflict between the thirteen American Colonies and the Great Britain Government began long before the events in Boston. The Colonists believed that it was not fair that they did not have official representatives in the British Parliament while the colonies were burdened with the increasing number of taxes. According to the Constitution, the British subjects did not have to pay taxes if they were not approved by their elected representatives in the Parliament, but the American Colonists …show more content…
By the end of the seventeenth century the British East India Company became de facto a monopoly on tea import. Still, the Company itself did not export the tea to the Colonies directly, but was required by law to sell it on the auctions in London where the tea merchants bought the tea and shipped it to the Colonies. The British Parliament constantly raised taxes on such a profitable commodity: in addition to the duty paid by the East India Company importing the tea, the duty on selling tea in Britain was introduced. The price of tea skyrocketed, which lead to the increase of smuggling cheaper tea from Holland. In order to fight the tea smuggling the Parliament lowered the duty on the tea sold in Britain but at the same time introduced the Townshend Acts of 1767 which imposed tea tax on the Colonies – three pence per pound. The Townshend Acts exacerbated the conflict between the American Colonies and Britain, again raising the question of the taxation legality. The new taxes were met with protests and boycotts. The colonial merchants began striking deals on stopping the import of the tea from England, the sales of contraband tea from Holland kept rising. It finally forced the Parliament to repeal all the Townshend Duties in 1770, except the duty on tea for the colonies, as the primary minister Lord North insisted. He stated that the tea tax should stay to maintain the right of taxing the Americans. It was enough to appease the merchants, but not for
The conflict between the thirteen American Colonies and the Great Britain Government began long before the events in Boston. The Colonists believed that it was not fair that they did not have official representatives in the British Parliament while the colonies were burdened with the increasing number of taxes. According to the Constitution, the British subjects did not have to pay taxes if they were not approved by their elected representatives in the Parliament, but the American Colonists …show more content…
By the end of the seventeenth century the British East India Company became de facto a monopoly on tea import. Still, the Company itself did not export the tea to the Colonies directly, but was required by law to sell it on the auctions in London where the tea merchants bought the tea and shipped it to the Colonies. The British Parliament constantly raised taxes on such a profitable commodity: in addition to the duty paid by the East India Company importing the tea, the duty on selling tea in Britain was introduced. The price of tea skyrocketed, which lead to the increase of smuggling cheaper tea from Holland. In order to fight the tea smuggling the Parliament lowered the duty on the tea sold in Britain but at the same time introduced the Townshend Acts of 1767 which imposed tea tax on the Colonies – three pence per pound. The Townshend Acts exacerbated the conflict between the American Colonies and Britain, again raising the question of the taxation legality. The new taxes were met with protests and boycotts. The colonial merchants began striking deals on stopping the import of the tea from England, the sales of contraband tea from Holland kept rising. It finally forced the Parliament to repeal all the Townshend Duties in 1770, except the duty on tea for the colonies, as the primary minister Lord North insisted. He stated that the tea tax should stay to maintain the right of taxing the Americans. It was enough to appease the merchants, but not for