Spain+(Causes)

=The Causes of the American Revolution =

The world was changing. Thirteen minute **colonies** were rebelling against a potent **country** -- but on the contrary, "...there is something very absurd, in supposing a continent to be perpetually governed by an island." (Thomas Paine, //Common Sense//) ﻿Britain was facing a rebellion, a REVOLUTION from their colonies in North America. The colonists, theoretically, should have been loyal and patriotic. They should have been obedient to their mother country. Instead, they, driven by their desire to have representation and influence in England's decisions (especially about taxes), their anger at England's intolerance and ignorance of the colonists in terms of affection and treating them like tools, and the Enlightenment ideas from John Locke about liberty, started a revolution - the //American// Revolution.

The English saw the colonists as subordinates, pawns,  and tools. They were sent to help England prosper and expand its influence on the world - a step into making the world English. Their war against the French and their Native allies had been won with the help of the mother country and its undefeated navy. It seemed completely reasonable for the English to rule over the colonists and that the colonists accepted and obeyed their demands. However, colonists were dissatisfied with and irate at their mother country, for following the Seven Years' War which the colonists struggled to triumph in, New France colonists were still permitted to stay in Canada and were even given the island of Guadeloupe. When taxes were asked of the them, the ﻿colonists, already long displeased by the English, rebelled. They demanded that they have a say in their taxation. England, taken aback by the colonists' request, declined and continued to lay taxes on them to cover the war costs. The colonists grew angry at the  ignorance their mother country was displaying, and formed the Sons of Liberty, which was led by a group of patriots and wealthy businessmen, to rebel against England. The colonists simply wanted to have an influence on the decisions made about their lives, specifically taxation.

The Seven Years' War against the French and their Native allies was expensive; ships were in need of repair, for example. England decided to tax its colonists. After all, the war was for **them** to keep **their** land and to expand geographically and economically. In the colonists' case, though, freedom from taxation and a social structure like feudalism was the norm. When taxes were being demanded from England all of a sudden, the colonists were unable to accept the big change. To display their discontentment, colonists brought their trades with the mother country (they were being used as a source of money) to a halt. This offended the English, who, in the first place, did not find any reason why the colonists would be so uncooperative. The tension between colony and mother country escalated.

"The supreme power cannot take from any man any part of his property without his own consent". (Second Treatise, Chapter 11). John Locke's quote about taxation freedom drove the colonists to want to become free and independent. The Enlightenment gave them inspiration to break free from the shackles and chains that they were bound in. John Locke believed that citizens had the right to throw out a government that failed to provide for its people natural rights and maximum liberty. Since they had been disaffected from the English for so long, the colonists saw freedom and independence as a way of life, not a privilege. The English wanted to regain control over them, and it was a threat for the freedom-thirsty colonists. This meant a revolution.

The tensions between the English and their colonists ﻿ were about to snap. The ignorance from the English and the lack of loyalty and patriotism to Great Britain in the colonists proved to be a great issue. Both ends of the max-stretched rubber band were not giving in. for the English, it was a battle for dignity. For the colonists, on the other hand, it was a revolutionary war for freedom, political influence and representation. When they realized that these requests were not being fulfilled and even ignored, independence from their long-disaffected mother country was a new goal. Tension grew - w hen the band snaps, war begins. Rattlesnake symbolism in the American Revolution "Don't Tread On Me"

**1755 – 1763** the French and Indian Wars: resentment towards colonists **1763** Royal Proclamation Act: restrictions angered colonists **1765**Stamp Act: colonists must pay costs of British military presence <span style="color: #d194d1; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">**1766** Stamp Act Congress: boycott British goods <span style="color: #d194d1; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">**1767**The Townshend Acts: attempt of enforcing compliance with trade regulations <span style="color: #d194d1; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">**1770** Boston Massacre: the British galvanized colonial opposition <span style="color: #d194d1; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">**1773** Boston Tea Party: the first direct action by colonists <span style="color: #d194d1; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">**1774** Intolerable Acts: triggered outrage in the colonies <span style="color: #d194d1; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">First Continental Congress: the beginning of an independent government
 * <span style="color: #d194d1; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">Timeline of Events that led to the Revolution **