Example Of The Major Disagreements Between The Americans AND The British, Which Essay
Type of paper: Essay
Topic: Colony, England, America, United States, Politics, Business, American Colonies, Tea
Pages: 3
Words: 825
Published: 2023/02/22
Developed Before the War of Independence
American industrialists and traders also showed dissatisfaction with the colonial policy of the metropolis. Since the middle of XVII century, Great Britain was trying to establish full control over economic operations of the American colonies, implementing a scheme under which all industrial goods (from metal buttons to fishing boats) were imported by the colonies from the mother country in exchange for raw materials and agricultural products. With this scheme, British entrepreneurs, as well as the British government, were very uninterested in the industrial development of the colonies, as well as in the trade of the colonies with anyone else except the metropolis. Meanwhile, the American industry (mainly in the northern colonies) has made significant progress. American industrialists have especially succeeded in building ships, allowing establishing trade with the West Indies quickly, and thus finding a market for domestic manufacture. English Parliament considered these successes so threatening that in 1750 passed a law prohibiting building in colonies the rolling mills and iron-cutting workshops. The foreign trade of the colonies has also been harassed. In 1763, the laws of navigation were passed, due to which only British ships were allowed to import and export the goods of the American colonies. In addition, all products intended for the colonies had to be loaded in Great Britain, regardless of where they were transported. Thus, metropole tried to put all the foreign trade of the colonies under its control, and it was without counting numerous duties and tax charges on goods that the colonists imported home on their own. The presence of British troops (remaining there after the Seven Years' War) in the colonies also caused discontent among the colonists. Demands on the granting of Independence were heard more often.
Feeling the seriousness of the situation, both the Americans and the British bourgeoisie sought a solution that would satisfy the interests of the metropolis and the colonies. Therefore, in 1754 on the initiative of Benjamin Franklin the project on creation of the union of the North American colonies with their own government, but headed by the president, appointed by the British king, was put forward. Although the project did not envisage the complete independence of the colonies, he caused a very negative reaction in London.
The British Parliament was constantly rejecting the protests of the colonists, and introducing new taxes for Americans. The tax on tea led to a boycott and the Boston Tea Party in 1773. The colonists protested against the "Tea Act" because it violated their right to be taxed only their elected representatives. Protesters successfully prevented the unloading of tea in the other three states, but in Boston, the Royal Governor Thomas Hutchinson had not given permission to send the tea back to Britain. Boston, as well as all Massachusetts colony, has long been considered “troublemakers” in Britain. Therefore, the British government made the most decisive steps to quell the rebels. The port was blocked until the municipal authorities paid a compensation for the destroyed cargo. British stubbornly refused to notice the latitude of rebellion, believing it was a deal of the group of radical fanatics. However, a punitive action against Boston did not only pacify the rebels, but also served as a call to all the American colonies to unite in a fight for independence.
Conclusion
Summarizing and analyzing all the researched information, several major areas of disagreement between the American colonists and the British policy makers that developed during the period from 1763 to 1776 can be outlined:
Disagreement on mass media and printing industry;
Economic and financial disagreements;
Disagreements in the vision of the governmental development of the American colonies.
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