VII. War of Independence in the USA.

American revolution

1. Brief content of the lecture

1.North America in the early 1600-s

The early 1600 saw the beginning of a great tide of emigration from Europe to North America. The first British colony in North America was Jamestown. On the basis of charter granted by king James I to the Virginia Company, in 1620 a group of Leyden Puritans of 100 men set out for Virginia on board the Mayflower. They reached Plymouth and it was the beginning of New England.

The colonists founded 13 colonies, their population in the 1600-s was 2,5 million. Colonists produced cheap raw materials, provided unlimited market for manufacturing goods. They were farmers, businessmen, hired workers, plantations’ owners.

Most colonies were royal colonies, but the remoteness from Britain made control of the colonies difficult. The British colonists had more freedom than Spanish or French ones.

2. The beginning of conflict between Britain and colonists.

British government needed more money to support its growing empire and passed some acts to tighten its control on the colonies.

*The Molasses Act of 1733

After the British- French war (1754-1773)- “Seven Years War” which was won by Britain (France lost Canada and all of the French territory east of the Mississippi river), king George III wanted the colonists to pay the war through higher taxes. The king made a law called Proclamation of 1763

**Proclamation of 1763

*1764 Law

** The Stamp Act of 1765

***Townshend Act of 1767

After the Stamp Act nine colonies sent their people to a meeting in New York. They made the decision that the British parliament could not tax the American colonies since they had no representations in parliament. “No taxation without representation”. After the Townshend Act many colonists refused to pay the taxes or to buy any goods made in England. A club was formed called “The Sons of Liberty”. The members broke into the homes of tax collectors and beat them, burned the hated tax stamps.

3. The Boston Tea Party

In 1173 the British East Indian Company received a privilege to send tea to America without paying the taxes. All other tea traders still had to pay a tax. The Americans refused to buy any tea and refused to unload the tea from the British ships in the American ports. Fifty men from the “Sons of Liberty” boarded a tea ship in the Boston Harbor, threw 342 chests tea valued at $75,000 into the water. It led to the war between the colonists and the British.

Date: 2015-01-02; view: 1209