In the 18th century, North America had already been divided into 12 colonies. They stretched from New Hampshire in the west all the way down to South Carolina in the east. Before the struggle to independence, American colonies remained under the control of the England. King George III was the over ruler of the colonies as well as of England. But in 1776, the colonies came together and fought for their independence after rebelling against the British government (Davidson 90).
The rebellion was triggered by a number of reasons. The wanted to make their own laws, but the British government could not allow them. They realized that they could only make laws if they had a form of government which recognized their needs. Another reason for the political consciousness that led to the struggle for independence is that the colonies wanted to expand their markets to other counties.
They wanted to engage in trade partnership with other countries. However, the colonial government could not allow this to happen. In addition, the colonies were required to pay taxes to the colonial government. The taxes remitted were extremely high and this angered some of the colonies.
The rebellion began during the last decade to independence. Protest against the British government took center stage. A key event that took place took place during this time of the rebellion was the seven year war. The war involved several powerful regions of the world at that moment including Europe, North America India, and West Africa. The war was triggered by disputes of interests between the colonists and colonialists. Britain was able to emerge victorious in the war.
Another key event during this period of political consciousness was the stamp act of 1765. The British parliament back in England came up with a law requiring British colonies to produce printed materials that only have revenue stamps from London. The stamp was supposed to be embossed on newspapers, magazines, and legal documents.
The revenue collected on the printed documents was meant to pay the British troops that helped their country to win the seven day war. This law was met with resistance in most of the colonies. They argued that since they were not represented at the parliament when the law was being passed there was no need to support it. British manufacturers and merchants were also affected by this law and contributed to its resistance.
The third key event during this period of political rebellion was the tea party. In 1773, the British government made a law that required all the colonies to pay taxes on tea. The new law also required every colony to send all the taxes to England further aggravating the protest against the colonial government.
The colonists fought against this law and in 1773, the famous Boston tea party happened (Davidson). This was not a real party but a protest against the law to pay taxes on tea. The colonist invaded a British ship carrying tea and threw everything in the water. This event is one of the most common protests against the British government in the history of America.
The image below shows how Americans protesting the tea taxation invaded the ships and threw containers with tea into the water.
After the famous protest, rebellion against the colonial government became more pronounced. Meetings were held by representatives from every colony to discuss their problems and issues. The meetings prepared a revolution (Ferling 45).
Works Cited
Davidson, James West. US: A Narrative History, Volume 1: To 1877. New York: McGraw Hill, 2008. Print.
Ferling, John. A Leap in the Dark: The Struggle to Create the American Republic. New York: Greenwood Press, 2003. Print.