By the first quarter of the 1600, the English had sent their first settlers to the new continent. Following their neighboring country Spain, they decided to try their luck as well. The English were not the only ones who tried to settle this new continent but for the purpose of this paper, we will learn how the English have failed to operate their own operation causing the colonies to rebel. The American Revolution was inevitable because of the English lack of ability to make good managerial decisions. The English saw the colonies as a source of revenue. The English civil war in the 1640, put the English in debt and they were looking for ways to find a solution out of it. The first mistake or bad attitude came shortly after when England discovered its colonies. Trade and Mercantilism were introduced to the colonies and to the English government. The colonists believed that their power is hidden in free trade and were motivated by self-interest, which they believed would help to develop a strong economic strength. The English Government on the other hand, saw the opportunity to limit the colonies trade and shift it to go through them. Starting at 1660, the English government enforced 4 navigation acts. The 4 acts were dealing with the way to trade and were limiting the colonist to choose a carrier for the goods, transferring good from one colony to the other, receiving goods from foreign ships and lastly creating a custom system which will be regulated by England. Those acts were forced on the colonies and therefore a black market was created and this was the first act the England had put down on the colonies but maybe that was the first act that helped the colonies to realize that they are becoming an important economic power which will do much better on its own. The Stamp Act (1765) was the first act that really drove the colonies into thinking that they might be better of without England. The core of the act was that for the first time the English government reached its hands into the heart of the day-to-day life of the colonies. The act again was to bring more revenue from the colonies to England. The act imposed that every Legal document, passports insurance document, liquor license, newspapers would have to be stamped or other wise be void or not be able to be sold. The English believed that the colonies should pay for the protection they are getting from Mother England but with this attitude we can see that England and the colonies are like Two separate entities therefore we can understand why the colonies did not like this new act which was reaching into their life and required them to pay more money without receiving anything tangible for it. Feeling desperate and hopeless against the Stamp Act, the colonists turn to a violent response. The English government assumed that they can just reach in and collect more money from the actions and way of life of the colonists without providing them with anything in additional to what they already were giving them. The colonies felt that the Stamp Act was really unfair and that drove them into what we call today, the Boston riots. A group of about 50 demonstrators went marching towards Andrew Oliver’s house. Andrew Oliver was the Stamp officer. They destroyed his Stamp office and his house. A few days later after the success they had with vandalizing Andrew Oliver’s house, they went to Governor Hutchinson’s house and this time, they completely destroyed his house. The Boston riots were an important retaliation from the colonies side as well as for the English Government. The colonists saw that although the Government in England is not sensitive to their needs and would not try to come up with ways to keep them happy under their wing, the colonists saw that there is another way, fighting for what is good for them. The English Government should have seen this coming and had they came up with a more productive way to benefit themselves from the colonies, the anger and desperation would have stopped there. The Tea Act was enforced on 1773. The Tea was shipped from the East India Company to England and from England to America. The new tax was hitting the shipment upon arrival to England and once again upon arrival to America. From an economic point of view, this act resulted with higher price for the tea, which led again to a market for smugglers. Making the trade of tea more difficult just cause more frustration at the colonies. Again the English Government saw an opportunity to tighten the hands of the colonies while they are making a profit out of it. The merchants in the colonies saw the success of the Boston riots and now the solution was clear. In order to change what they don’t like, they need to fight for it! At the beginning they refused to buy the Tea from England and they sent the ships back or just would not sell the Tea upon arrival. Shortly after the Boston Massacre (a deadly demonstration in front of Governor Hutchinson’s house) Hutchinson order to seal the harbor so the colonists could not sent the ships back to England. The patriots of Boston held a meeting but due to the Governor action, they knew that the way out of this situation is again to fight! A group of rebels went into the Harbor that night and throw the shipment into the Boston harbor. This was the first time that the colonists deliberately destroyed English property that was intended to bring revenue to mother England. At this point the English Government should have looked at the situation and realize that they could no longer put any pressure on the colonies. They should have found another way to work with the colonies but as we know today, they did not. The English Government was shocked with the way the colonies are reacting to what they believed was good for the English crown as a whole. The English parliament came up with the Coercive Acts that were referred by the colonies as the Intolerable Acts. From the way the two sides titled those Acts we can see that at that point they were heading for war. The English parliament hoped that the colonies will back off and except England as the ruler of the new world and on the other hand, the colonies had just enough of the English parliament throwing all those revenue rising acts on them. The acts were as followed; the quartering act enable English troops to stay at houses and get supply from the colonies. They closed the Boston port until the money for the lost tea will be paid. They allowed British officials to be trail in a different colony or if they wished, back in England. They gave the Governor of Massachusetts the power to control the town’s meetings. All of those acts were driving democracy out and bringing
English anarchy in. The colonies new that this situation is like a snowball going down hill. They set up the first continental congress in order to solve the problems that the Intolerable Acts were causing. This congress meeting was also very important because for the first time, 13 colonies got together as one unit to find a way to present themselves as one. They decided that the parliament has no right to tax them or regulate their trading habits. They decided to stop trading with England until England will drop the Acts. England did not back off. Just before the war broke loose, the colonies set up the second continental congress. The purpose of this meeting was to unite against the English troops and get organized for war. Nevertheless, the colonies felt really bad about how the situation went so sour and they were also still loyal to King George III. They came up with the Olive Branch petition. They asked the King to get involved and get the parliament off. The king’s response was that the colonies are rebelling and the war started. The war with England was inevitable. England was so successful in becoming the strong power in the new world but on the other hand, failed almost completely to govern its own people. All those acts were presented to the colonists in a way that they could not see the benefit for them, if there was any. The English government slowly but surely pushed the colonies away. In a way, if it was not for England bad decision-making policy, it is likely to assume that the colonies would have stayed under the crown even till today! The English government saw that the colonies are becoming very productive and strong in trade but on the other hand, they failed to see that the exact same colonies are upset and are able to lift their head up and fight. If they were so important to the English government then how come the English government did not find a solution that will keep them (the colonies) happy in the long run? Mistake after mistake caused the English Crown to loose it’s most valuable asset and gave liberty to the individuals who went over seas to find a better place then home.
Work cited John M. Murrin, et al. Liberty, Equality, Power. Concise Second Edition, Volume I to 1877. Harcourt College Poblishers.
Autor:
Shahar Alon