1. Part I December 2016 World History
American Revolution
Part I
December 2016
World History

2. CONTEXT
Philosophers such as Voltaire considered England’s government to be the most progressive in Europe
The Glorious Revolution (1688) gave England a constitutional monarchy…..this limited the power of the king
Despite the philosophical view, many in England's 13 colonies viewed British rule as tyrannical
Inspired by Enlightenment ideas, these colonists would attempt to overthrow the most powerful nation on earth and create their own nation

3. Britain & its American colonies
1608 – British establish first permanent settlement at Jamestown
Throughout the 1600s & 1700s, British colonists had formed a large & thriving settlement along the eastern seaboard of North America…. the 13 Colonies
Colonial cities like New York, Philadelphia & Boston were busy commercial centers that linked North America to the West Indies, Africa & Europe

4. Britain & its American colonies
By the 1770s, the 13 Colonies collectively contained approximately 2.1 million people
It was also home to diverse religious & ethnic groups as many Europeans settled there to escape religious / political persecution
Most British shared common language / political background
The colonies thrived on trade with Europe

5. Britain & its American Colonies
After living in America for nearly 150 years, a new sense of identity was emerging in the colonists’ minds
Each of the 13 colonies had their own government & people were use to a great degree of independence
However, the colonists were still British subjects & were expected to obey British laws

6. Britain & Its American Colonies
British believed that the American colonies were only valuable for economic purposes existed for the good of the England.
The colonies were to produce goods – mostly raw materials – that could not be produced in Britain
They were also to provide markets for British manufactured goods
The mother country's only obligation was defense.

7. Britain & Its American Colonies
During the early 1700s, there was great economic activity in all of the following areas:
South = huge tobacco / rice plantations
Middle = agriculture
New England = fishing industry
Salutary Neglect: only British interest was economic

8. Britain & its American Colonies
Britain applied mercantilist economic policies to its colonies in an attempt to strengthen its own economy by exporting more than it imported
1651: Parliament passes a series of laws called the Navigation Acts to regulate colonial trade & manufacturing (not rigoursly enforced)
These laws limited colonial trade to Britain only
Despite restrictions, the colonies thrived on trade with Britain

10. Britain & its American Colonies
Most of the colonies were managed by a governor appointed by the king.
Each colony also had an elected assembly with voting restricted to all male property owners
Land was easy to acquire so a greater percentage of the population could vote for their government.
One of the powers of the assemblies was to approve any new taxes requested by the Crown or governors

12. Britain & its American Colonies
Between the French & Indian War was fought between the English & the French (part of the Seven Years’ War)
French defeated resulted in the Fall of New France
Britain became the world’s greatest colonial power & gained control of North America

13. Britain & its American Colonies
Between the French & Indian War was fought between the English & the French (part of the Seven Years’ War)
While the British defeated the French by 1763 gaining control of North America, doing so put them into debt
Because the colonists benefitted from the outcome of the war, the British government expected the colonists to help pay for the costs of the war

14. Britain & its American Colonies
The French and Indian War cost the British a lot of money (doubled national debt) so the British adopted a new policy towards the 13 Colonies
Decided to maintain a large army in N. Amer
Abandoned Salutary Neglect & attempted to make the American colonists pay for the defense of their territory that was under British rule.