Breaking Away: The American Revolution
The French and Indian War settled the long struggle in North America between Britain and France. When it ended in 1763, after many years of fighting, Britain was the clear winner. British forces controlled the most important rivers, commanded the key forts, and held the best seaports. But Britain was broke. The war had left a national debt of 133 million pounds, and King George III wanted even more money to put new British “peacekeeping” forces in North America.
He decided that the American colonists should pay for their “defence.” Beginning in 1764, British authorities imposed taxes on tea, glass, lead, paints, paper, and other items. The idea backfired: It made many colonists rethink their relationship with Britain. Why were they being treated like children? Why should they be taxed if they had no votes in the British Parliament? Now that the French and Spanish were weak, and now that the colonists outnumbered the Indians nearly twenty to one, why did they need British soldiers to protect them? Hadn’t they cleared the wilderness, built their own homes, and organized their own cities? In short, they asked themselves, wasn’t this really their land to govern?