American Revolution Essay

The well-known war in which a collection of thirteen colonies fought for independence

against the British empire they were established from, known as the American Revolutionary

War, is taught in schools and celebrated annually around American today. The story of the

Boston Tea Party protest by members of the Sons of Liberty that took place on December 16th,

1773 and the three hundred crates of tea being dumped into the Boston Harbor is a well-known

piece of history and likely the earliest memory many American’s have of being taught about the

American Revolution in grade school. Some kids may even think it was the sole reason the war

began. England’s interest in the “New World”, becoming the British Empire and establishing

itself as a great trading empire and their rivalry with the French would lead to the American

Revolutionary war.

Around the fifteenth century the Europeans would have survived disaster such as the

Black Plague, and would enter the renaissance. The emergence of new ideas would spark the age

of exploration. New technologies such as larger sailing ships allowed for longer journeys over

the ocean, and navigational instruments such as compasses and astrolabes would allow for more

accurate navigation on said voyages (Tindall and Shi 20). Idea’s and discussion about a new

world along with technologies to make the exploration possible led to a rise in global trade as

mariners would sail in search of goods from far off lands such as China and Japan. The interest

in trade would be important to the English in the future.

In 1651 England would embrace mercantilism, a system in which the government

controlled all economic activities to attempt to strengthen national power (Tindall and Shi 152).

This system of Mercantilism supported the creation of empires and use of colonies to enrich the

home country. Of course the thirteen colonies most likely would not have existed as they were if
not for the British empire’s rampant colonialism. The British Empire was one of the most

extensive empires in world history. Due to the need for trade and raw materials the British

expanded into America, however French colonies had also wanted to expand their reach and as

such had placed colonies in America as well. Both the British and French wanted to extend their

North American colonies into the Ohio Territory, the land west of the Appalachian Mountains.

Both forces already had traders doing business with natives in the area and had pioneers living

on the frontier. Control over the “Ohio Country” meant control over the entire continent because

of access to the Ohio and Mississippi rivers (Tindall and Shi 157), the conflict grew until it was

war. This was the cause of the French Indian war. The war would soon turn in the British’s favor

with help from George Washington however this war would be one of the causes for the thirteen

colonies to fight for independence.

After the French Indian war was won the British empire was left with a debt that needed

to be paid, so they looked towards the colonies as one of their sources of income. George

Greenville would call the Americans the “least taxed people in the world” and insisted on them

paying for the soldiers who defended them (Tindall and Shi 167). Greenville would continue to

put through the American Revenue Act of 1764, more commonly known as the Sugar Act, would

raise taxes on materials imported to America like sugar, wine, coffee, and spices. Following the

Sugar Act, the Currency Act would be the next regulatory measure by Greenville and would

prevent colonists from printing or coining money. Greenville would continue to allow acts

unpopular to the American citizens to pass such as the Quartering Act and the Stamp Act, the

latter of which would cause protests in the colonies and arouse high resistance against

parliament. This tension would rise, until

 All of these circumstances were important to the cause of the Revolutionary War. After

the Renaissance and Europe’s interest in the New World, England embracing mercantilism

caused it to use colonies to gain raw materials and wealth. If not for the rivalry between France

and England, then it is less likely that France would’ve attempted to take control of the Ohio

Territory in America and the French Indian War may not have happened. The war’s drain on the

resources of Britain would cause the empire to search for more ways to replenish their wealth

and as such enact more taxes and policies to exploit the thirteen colonies for money. Each event

would influence the next one and as such all were important to the beginning of the

Revolutionary War. It’s interesting to think what would happen if one event had gone differently,

and what would change from it.

 Work Cited

Tindall, George Brown, and David Emory Shi. America: A Narrative History. Norton, 2010.