Why Great Britian Lost Its Colonies Essay

, Research Paper

The British loss of the American colonies could have easily been prevented. British incompetence and a strong American want for self government are among the chief factors which caused the British loss.

The first successful British colony, Jamestown, founded in Virginia in 1607, was plagued by problems caused by poor decision making capabilities. Before making any key decisions colonists had to communicate with the London Company in England, 3000 miles and six weeks away. For the colony to survive, some kind of government was needed in North America. The solution was the House of Burgesses, the first representative assembly, created in 1619.

Other colonies soon followed, i.e. Massachusetts Bay, in 1630, and Maryland, in 1632. Each colony had its own North America-based government. Self-government was rooted in the colonies from the very beginning.

Since the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, Spain’s power diminished, and there were only two countries to reckon with: Britain and France. Before the French and Indian war, the two countries had gone to war several times, but the fighting remained on the European continent. In the French and Indian war it was just the opposite.

For the first couple years France appeared to be winning the war. Then William Pitt became the British Secretary of State in 1756. He used brilliant military devices such as a global strategy to help the British. France was humbled in 1763, and peace was cemented by the Treaty of Paris. France was forced to give up its lands in North America. This left Britain as the only remaining superpower.

Britain was a Mercantilist nation, and viewed all of its colonial extremities as a means for increasing the nation’s wealth. As early as 1660 Parliament began passing acts that insured that Britain made a profit from the colonies. These were the Navigation Acts (the exact same act was passed in 1650 by the Commonwealth). The required that British colonial merchants trade only with Great Britain. This was one of the first steps the British took in driving a wedge between the colonies and the motherland.

By the early 1700’s New England was relying heavily on their triangular rum trade with the West Indies and Africa. The British Indies could only supply a small amount of the molasses need, so the colonies still bought large amounts of Dutch and French molasses. In 1733 Parliament passed the Molasses Act requiring a stiff duty on all molasses imported from foreign West Indies. Colonists largely ignored the act, or bribed the customs officials, and the triangular trade continued.

After the French and Indian war concluded, the British needed even more revenue. The new Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Grenville, appointed in April, 1763, began to create various acts that further interfered with the colonial life. The Sugar Act in April of 1764 reduced the molasses duty by 50%, but added duties to several other items, such as coffee, wine, sugar, etc. Colonists recognized that this act was concerned not only with the regulation of trade, accepted by colonists as a right of Parliament, but also with raising revenue. Because this tax was levied by Parliament, and not by the colonial assemblies, colonists feared it broke their tradition of “no taxation without representation.” They refused to pay the tax even though the average tax in the colonies was 26 times lower than in England.

In 1765 Grenville had another stroke of genius and wrote the Quartering Act. This required colonists to support the several thousand British troops in North America by providing barracks, bedding, and beverages. Colonists, who already disliked the troops, found that being in such close contact with them intensified their hatred.

On November 1st of the same year, Grenville passed his Stamp Act. This act taxed just about everything that wasn’t taxed before. The act was a nuisance and highly visible, so it couldn’t be ignored . Grenville included a provision stating that all offenders of this act were to be tried in Vice-Admiralty Courts, depriving them of a normal trial in colonial courts. This was the most blatant attempt at taxing the colonists so far. The Sons of Liberty blocked stamped items from being unloaded, and the Stamp Act Congress sent a petition to the King and Parliament, stating their position. The Stamp Act was repealed in March, 1766, but was immediately followed by the Declaratory Act, denying the claims of the Stamp Act Congress and reaffirming Parliament’s right to tax the colonies.

Grenville was succeeded by Charles Townshend in 1767. The Townshend Acts put a duty on all items imported from Britain to pay for the colonial administration. Since the colonial assemblies already paid those expenses, the measure was seen as another tax. The result was the nonimportation agreement of 1768. Charles also attempted to enforce the Quartering Act by making an example of New York (he suspended their assembly), the primary offender of this act. Soon faced with dangerous hostility levels, he changed the Quartering Act.

Troops arrived in Boston to deal with the growing hostility in September of 1768. On March 5, 1770, tensions exploded in the Boston Massacre, a tragedy and embarrassment to the British government. Lord North, appointed by King George in 1770, prudently repealed the Townshend Acts and the Quartering Act. For