SEVEN YEAR WAR

Seven year war

Seven year war

Describe the diverse social and political backgrounds existent in eighteenth-century America.

The American Revolutionary War, also known as the American War of Independence, was a conflict that erupted between Great Britain, and its American colonies from 1775 to 1783. In 1775 British soldiers invaded America with the intention to rule the country. The American War of Independence lasted for eight years and over time the War tore American and British relationships apart. Many factors contributing to this war include political and economic reasons.

When the French-Indian War ended in 1761, there were political problems arising between Britain and France. The treaty signed that ended the war gave Britain almost all of Frances territory and colonies in North America. Most of the American colonists took pride in being part of the British Empire mainly because it was the most powerful empire at that time. However, due to George Washington's decision to attack the French to occupy more territories and colonies, political problems arose and brought Britain into crisis with its American colonies. This factor eventually became a major cause for the American War of Independence.

In 1763 Britain was forced to send 10,000 troops to America to defend the settlers due to Indians attacking settlers living in the West. The Quartering Act established in 1765 forced colonists to provide the British troops with money and supplies. The colonists were deeply resentful with the Quartering Act and this brought more conflict to the already tense relationship between the English and American quite significantly. Britain then decided that all Americans should pay a tax that would contribute towards the defence of the settlers. However, the Americans did not embrace on this decision and refused to pay the taxes. The British government soon recognized the Americans disregard for the authority and is evident by colonial merchants continuing to trade with the French and attempting to smuggle in goods, while the colonists refused to provide British soldiers with supplies. This lead to Britain faced with a debt.

In order to pay off the debt, the British government created the Sugar and Stamp Act in 1765. The Sugar Act placed a tax on sugar products and proved to be unsuccessful due to the increase in smuggling. After the failure of the Sugar Act, the Stamp Act was introduced next and required colonists to purchase and use specially stamped paper for all documents, deeds and newspapers. Once again, the colonists did not approve of the taxes and believed that the Stamp Act violated the right to not be taxed without representation, which lead to a protest against the Act. (Morison, 1767)

The protest caused riots, mobs and petitions to be sent to the Parliament requesting tax cancellation. To ensure that the taxes were canceled, American colonists and merchants joined together and pledged not to buy any British goods. The boycott was a success and very effective in ending the Stamp Act in 1776. Although the Stamp Act was cancelled, the British Parliament set a new tax on ...