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The end of France and India War
After the war between India and France, the participating countries signed the Treaty of Paris. As a victorious nation, Britain gained a large amount of land, but its economy declined after the war. It was decided to tax the colonies to restore their economy.
Although the colonies welcomed the British victory, they also began to realize the detrimental effects of British control over them. -
Sugar Act
Taxes on imported goods such as sugar and honey to increase British revenue and combat smuggling.
This affects the production industry, which uses sugar and honey as the main raw materials. The colonists were also dissatisfied with the Sugar Tax Act because the British violated the principle of no taxation without representation. The colonists used pamphlets and leaflets to arouse opposition to the sugar tax laws -
Stamp Act
Tax on paper products bearing British stamps. It was the first tax levied directly on transactions within the American colonies.
The colonists were very dissatisfied with this matter, and parliaments and assemblies in various places issued resolutions condemning the unfairness of the stamp tax. Due to various protests and rebellions, Britain had no choice but to abolish the stamp duty, but also passed the "Act of Honors", which stated that Britain had absolute control over the colonies. -
Declaration Act
Claimed that Britain had absolute legislative power over the colonies.
The colonists discovered a contradiction before they could even celebrate the abolition of the Stamp Act. The passage of the Declaration Act meant that Britain had complete legislative power under any circumstances. This was in conflict with the principle of no taxation without representation, so many representatives stood up to protest. -
Townshend Act
Taxing goods such as glass, paint, and paper, the Act also increased the powers of British officials in the colonies, such as search warrants for goods.
The colonists used various protests, demonstrations, torture, and speeches to express their dissatisfaction with the Townshend Act. They boycotted British goods and instead purchased goods produced locally or imported from elsewhere. -
Tea Act
Britain granted the East India Company the privilege of selling tea directly to the colonies and imposed a tax on tea.
The colonists began boycotting tea, causing the East India Company's tea sales in the colonies to drop, and some began to encourage the purchase of smuggled tea instead of British tea. On December 6, 1773, members of the Sons of Liberty dumped approximately 90000 pounds of British tea from ships into the sea. Britain promulgated a "punishment law" in response to this matter. -
American Revolution War
After the Boston Tea Party incident in 1773, the British passed the Coercive Act, closing the Port of Boston and strengthening control over the colonies, which was the last straw.
After two Continental Congresses, the situation of the Revolutionary War was inevitable, but people had different views on this situation. Loyalists believed that economic dependence on Britain was necessary, but for patriots, independence trumped everything else.