Battle for Independence

Throughout most of the history of the American colonies up until the mid-eighteenth century, had been allowed to live in relative isolation under salutary neglect. When the British took those privileges away, they turned to revolt. They didn't get their way, and threw a tantrum. America went from loyalty to protest to rebellion. America and Britain were good allies until Britain passed all of those taxes. Battles were fought and the Americans eventually won.

Britain was lightly involved in the government of the individual colonies, each of which had a legislature that passed laws and taxed the colonial citizens as it saw fit. Despite the political isolation, a majority of the colonists remained loyal to the king, and recognized British parliament as the ultimate source of governmental authority, not only military, but economically as well. Some maybe feared the power of England and therefore stayed loyal. Relations with Britain were friendly, and the colonies relied on British trade for economic success and on British protection from other nations with interests in North America. There were many pirates and privateers preying on shipping lanes. The British Navy helped stop them.

After the French and Indian war, and the signing of the treaty of Paris, the British government dropped its policy of salutary neglect and attempted to gain tighter control over its holdings in North America. Also, wanted to force the colonies to share in their responsibility for the debt build up during the French and Indian War. Britain limited the colonists' expansion west, in addition to continuing to demand that the colonists trade only with the British, began to tax the colonies and order them to pay for large numbers of British troops to be kept in the colonies. They imposed these new taxes on the colonies without the colonies having a right to argue against the taxation. The first sign of protest was when the stamp act was established. Colonists boycotted products by refusing to...