Not sure Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 5

Not sure - Essay Example The Navigation Act trade law that was passed by the British parliament in 1651 mandated that the colonists only sell their products to Britain. Furthermore, the colonists were required to pay soaring taxes on goods imported from Dutch and France. Nevertheless, these policies ensured that the colonies and Britain benefited equally. Despite the numerous trade restrictions imposed by the British government the colonial merchants thrived. In 1754, the French and the English were embattled in a war for the control of North America. It is necessary to note that ‘the French also had colonies in North America during the 1600s and 1700s.’ The British and her colonies defeated the French in 1763, taking almost all of the land occupied by the French. Another impact of the victory was that it created tensions between the British colonies and the ‘motherland.’ Great Britain had incurred huge debts in fighting the war. The colonies also benefited from the victory; therefore, Britain felt that it is necessary for the colonists to aid in paying the debts incurred during the war. Therefore, the Stamp Act came into force in 1765. This law required all colonists to pay taxes in order to get an official stamp on newspapers, deeds, wills and other printed material. This move by the British government to impose taxes outraged the colonists in America. In addition, throughout history they had never directly paid taxes to the British government. Their argument was that the Stamp Act desecrated the natural rights of colonists, and they resolved that the British government was wrong to tax them without representation. According to the British system of governance representatives of citizens in parliament, defined the tax rates agreeable with their people. However, in this case the colonists had no representatives in parliament, and thus they saw it as an act of injustice that ought to be resisted (Bailyn). This tax laws fostered the growth of hostility between the colonists