There is no simple answer; however in essence American
colonists believed that they had been denied their rights of Englishmen and resented the
fact that British soldiers were garrisoned in their
midst.
Prior to the French and Indian War, American
colonists had violated the Navigation Acts with abandon; political turmoil in England
meant that the Acts were not enforced, and the colonists enjoyed a period known as "wise
and salutary neglect." Following the war, the British minister, George Grenville, was
determined to put the colonies back into their proper perspective. He first did this by
sending customs agents to enforce the Navigation
Acts.
Next, Grenville imposed the Stamp Act on the
colonists, which imposed a tax on newspapers, dice, playing cards and legal documents.
Colonists objected loudly because this was the first attempt by Parliament to collect
revenue from them. Previous Acts had been for purposes or regulation. The colonists
believed that as Englishmen they had the right to be taxed only by those whom they had
elected, namely the Colonial Legislatures. This led to the cry of "taxation without
representation."
Additionally, the colonists resented the
presence of British soldiers. The soldiers tended to be of the low-life sort, prone to
swearing, drunkenness and whore-mongering; yet at the same time looked down on colonists
with disdain.
Finally, Lord North, the new British Prime
Minister instituted legislation which gave a monopoly on the sale of tea in the Colonies
to the British East India Tea Company. The act did NOT increase the price of tea, or put
a tax on it as is commonly believed; in fact it lowered the price, but it gave the
company a monopoly which hurt colonial merchants. This led to the famous Boston Tea
Party, followed by the Coercive (Intolerable) Acts. The undesired presence of British
Soldiers in Boston led to the so called Boston Massacre, and pushed the colonies and
Britain to the brink of war.
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