Why Great Britian Lost Its Colonies Essay
, Research Paper
The British loss of the American settlements could hold easy been prevented. British incompetency and a strong American privation for self authorities are among the head factors which caused the British loss.
The first successful British settlement, Jamestown, founded in Virginia in 1607, was plagued by jobs caused by hapless determination doing capablenesss. Before doing any cardinal determinations settlers had to pass on with the London Company in England, 3000 stat mis and six hebdomads off. For the settlement to last, some sort of authorities was needed in North America. The solution was the House of Burgesses, the first representative assembly, created in 1619.
Other settlements shortly followed, i.e. Massachusetts Bay, in 1630, and Maryland, in 1632. Each settlement had its ain North America-based authorities. Self-government was rooted in the settlements from the really beginning.
Since the licking of the Spanish Armada in 1588, Spain & # 8217 ; s power diminished, and there were merely two states to think with: Britain and France. Before the Gallic and Indian war, the two states had gone to war several times, but the combat remained on the European continent. In the Gallic and Indian war it was merely the antonym.
For the first twosome old ages France appeared to be winning the war. Then William Pitt became the British Secretary of State in 1756. He used superb military devices such as a planetary scheme to assist the British. France was humbled in 1763, and peace was cemented by the Treaty of Paris. France was forced to give up its lands in North America. This left Britain as the lone staying world power.
Britain was a Mercantilist state, and viewed all of its colonial appendages as a agency for increasing the state & # 8217 ; s wealth. Equally early as 1660 Parliament began go throughing Acts of the Apostless that insured that Britain made a net income from the settlements. These were the Navigation Acts ( the exact same act was passed in 1650 by the Commonwealth ) . The needed that British colonial merchandisers trade merely with Great Britain. This was one of the first steps the British took in driving a cuneus between the settlements and the fatherland.
By the early 1700 & # 8217 ; s New England was trusting to a great extent on their triangular rum trade with the West Indies and Africa. The British Indies could merely provide a little sum of the molasses need, so the settlements still bought big sums of Dutch and Gallic molasses. In 1733 Parliament passed the Molasses Act necessitating a stiff responsibility on all molasses imported from foreign West Indies. Settlers mostly ignored the act, or bribed the imposts functionaries, and the triangular trade continued.
After the Gallic and Indian war concluded, the British needed even more gross. The new Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Grenville, appointed in April, 1763, began to make assorted Acts of the Apostless that farther interfered with the colonial life. The Sugar Act in April of 1764 reduced the molasses responsibility by 50 % , but added responsibilities to several other points, such as java, vino, sugar, etc. Settlers recognized that this act was concerned non merely with the ordinance of trade, accepted by settlers as a right of Parliament, but besides with raising gross. Because this revenue enhancement was levied by Parliament, and non by the colonial assemblies, settlers feared it broke their tradition of & # 8220 ; no revenue enhancement without representation. & # 8221 ; They refused to pay the revenue enhancement even though the mean revenue enhancement in the settlements was 26 times lower than in England.
In 1765 Grenville had another shot of mastermind and wrote the Quartering Act. This needed settlers to back up the several thousand British military personnels in North America by supplying barracks, bedclothes, and drinks. Settlers, who already disliked the military personnels, found that being in such close contact with them intensified their hate.
On November 1st of the same twelvemonth, Grenville passed his Stamp Act. This act taxed merely about everything that wasn & # 8217 ; t taxed before. The act was a nuisance and extremely seeable, so it couldn & # 8217 ; t be ignored. Grenville included a proviso saying that all wrongdoers of this act were to be tried in Vice-Admiralty Courts, striping them of a normal test in colonial tribunals. This was the most blazing effort at taxing the settlers so far. The Sons of Liberty blocked stamped points from being unloaded, and the Stamp Act Congress sent a request to the King and Parliament, saying their place. The Stamp Act was repealed in March, 1766, but was instantly followed by the Declaratory Act, denying the claims of the Stamp Act Congress and reaffirming Parliament & # 8217 ; s right to revenue enhancement the settlements.
Grenville was succeeded by Charles Townshend in 1767. The Townshend Acts put a responsibility on all points imported from Britain to pay for the colonial disposal. Since the colonial assemblies already paid those disbursals, the step was seen as another revenue enhancement. The consequence was the nonimportation understanding of 1768. Charles besides attempted to implement the Quartering Act by doing an illustration of New York ( he suspended their assembly ) , the primary wrongdoer of this act. Soon faced with unsafe ill will degrees, he changed the Quartering Act.
Military personnels arrived in Boston to cover with the turning ill will in September of 1768. On March 5, 1770, tensenesss exploded in the Boston Massacre, a calamity and embarrassment to the British authorities. Lord North, appointed by King George in 1770, providentially repealed the Townshend Acts and the Quartering Act. For the following two old ages at that place was a letup in the belligerencies.
The British authorities, announced in 1772 that it would henceforth pay the governor and Judgess in the settlements. The settlers, who usually paid the wages themselves, recognized this as a new onslaught on their authorization. Shortly after, the Tea Act was declared and rekindled the hostility. The Tea Act hurt many colonial merchandisers by cutting them out of the tea trade. The act cut out the jobbers from the British tea gross revenues in order to vie with less expensive Dutch tea. The Boston Tea Party, on December 16, 1773, was the eventual reaction of the colonial merchandisers.
When Lord North and King George learned of the Tea Party they fumed over the unmanageable settlements for yearss until they devised the Coercive Acts. These Acts of the Apostless closed Boston & # 8217 ; s port, took away the province & # 8217 ; s charter, closed the tribunals, stopped town meetings, and placed the full settlement under military control. Besides the Quartering Act was dusted off and reinstated. The Quebec Act followed on the heels of the Coercive Acts. It expanded Canadian boundary lines and allowed the Canadians to freely pattern their Catholic faith. This act was non aimed at the settlements, but was intended to gain the trueness of the French-Canadians. The settlements saw the act as an attempt to barricade westbound enlargement. These two Acts of the Apostless became known jointly as the Intolerable Acts.
By the clip the first shootings were fired at Lexington in the winter of 1774-75 the settlements were ferocious at the Brits. The British had managed to estrange the settlements to the point of revolution by thumping a diplomatic cuneus between the continents with consecutive Acts of the Apostless of statute law, such as the Tea Act and the Coercive Acts.
The first brush at Lexington between British officer John Pitcairn and a group of Minutemans led by John Parker went precisely as one would anticipate. The work forces under Britain beat the Minutemans in less than 15 proceedingss and proceeded on to Concord. Score one for the Brits. At Lexington there was a surprise waiting for the little unit of British soldiers. They were surrounded by 3000 Minutemans and forced to withdraw. The mark was surprisingly tied at one to one.
In 1775 a frontiersman, Ethan Allen, exercised the settlements home-field advantage and scored another conflict for the settlements. He surprised the British military personnels at the strategic Fort Ticonderoga. The American & # 8217 ; s had a distinguishable advantage contending for their ain state, contending with more ardor for the land they loved than the foreign ground forcess. They knew the terrain better than any commanding officer who & # 8217 ; d spent most of his life in Europe. They used this cognition in be aftering many of their guerilla onslaughts. The British commanding officers were used to contending & # 8220 ; civilized & # 8221 ; conflicts, in which one ground forces lines up on one side of a field and the opposing force on the other side, and they shoot at each other. The settlers used different tactics, frequently scuppering regiments when they were being moved from one topographic point to another. The American force would leap out of the trees and, after a brief skirmish, disappear once more. When the two ground forcess did confront one another in unfastened combat, the Amer
icans had two more really helpful advantages. Although under-equipped for most of the combat, settlers fired with hunting rifles, and non muskets, like the Brits. The rifles were much easier to manage and had better purpose. The 2nd advantage settlers had was the fact that their oppositions wore bright ruddy coats, and were easy seen from across the dust-covered field.
Embarrassed by their losingss to the colonial forces, the British forces attacked Breed & # 8217 ; s Hill and Bunker Hill in 1775. The rebel force under Israel & # 8220 ; Old Put & # 8221 ; Putnam was defeated, but merely after the 3rd effort by the British forces. After this conflict the mark was two each.
In September of the same twelvemonth the colonial forces received word that Sir Guy Carleton of Canada was be aftering an invasion from the North. They decided to strike foremost. Colonel Benedict Arnold led his force to Quebec where he was joined four months subsequently by General Montgomery. The besieging failed. A combination of acrimonious conditions, an eruption of variola, and a deficiency of supplies took their toll on the settlers. The Canadians, with plentifulness of supplies, merely waited in their bastioned metropolis until the besieging was over. The British pulled in front and the mark was 3 to 2.
The Continental Congress hired George Washington shortly after the conflict at Bunker Hill. He acted fleetly and attacked British commanding officer General Howe from Dorchester Heights. William Howe was caught off guard and retreated to Halifax, Nova Scotia. Settlers managed to bind it up once more at 3.
Independence was officially declared in July of 1776. There had been one concluding effort by the centrists of the Continental Congress to accommodate with Britain in the old twelvemonth. On July 8, 1775, the Olive Branch Petition was accepted and sent to King George. George finely responded with the Prohibitory Act declaring that there was & # 8220 ; a general province or rebellion among the settlements, & # 8221 ; and the treasonists would be brought to justness. George didn & # 8217 ; t want to do up with the settlements.
Declaring independency was a good thought for two grounds. First, all American soldiers captured in the war would hold to be treated as captives of war, and non treasonists subject to the decease punishment. Second, it would convey any British enemies to the side of the settlements.
The British rapidly bounced back from their licking at Dorchester and General Howe attacked New York with an impressive force a couple months subsequently. General Washington was driven out of Manhattan Island and Long Island, across the Hudson and Delaware rivers into Pennsylvania. The British were in front once more, 4 to 3.
In December Washington was despairing. His work forces were abandoning, and many of their footings of hitch were traveling to run out on new twelvemonth & # 8217 ; s twenty-four hours. He made a valorous show force by bear downing across the Delaware into Trenton and destroyed the force of Hessians ( German soldier of fortunes working for the Brits ) at that place. Four yearss subsequently he crossed the Delaware once more with twice as many work forces and took Princeton. He was driven out by Lord Cornwallis. He had to withdraw to the Morristown hills. The mark was 5 to 4, and the Britishs were still in front.
In 1777 the British devised a program to insulate New England. The program was for Lieutenant Colonel Barry St. Leger to process down from Montreal. He was so to run into up with John Burgoyne who was to come down from Quebec. Finally General Howe was supposed to come up from Maryland, therefore break uping New England from the remainder of the settlements. However, General Howe decided it would be better for their cause if he changed his programs and attacked Philadelphia. Howe successfully crushed Washington at Brandywine, but destroyed the original program. Barry St. Leger made it to Fort Stanwix when he discovered a immense force led by Col. Arnold was coming to prosecute him. John Burgoyne managed to make Fort Ticonderoga, but was defeated when he reached Saratoga. That was one more for the Brits and two for the Americans, doing the mark tied one time once more at 6.
The licking of the British at Saratoga was the sort of conflict the Gallic had been waiting for. They began directing support to the Americans about instantly afterward. In going a world power England had made a batch of enemies who were eager to fall in in the battle back uping the American & # 8217 ; s. France was enemy. Spain and Holland were others. The formation of a multi-national force helped vastly in the licking of England.
When France entered the war the British Royal Navy became more involved. Up to this point the First Lord of the Admiralty, the Earl of Sandwich, had been kicking that his naval forces had been under used. The ships had been used chiefly as conveyances for ground forces military personnels. When France entered the scene, he believed that the focal point of the naval forces should be in the Channel to protect against a & # 8220 ; Continental enemy. & # 8221 ; The naval forces was in no status, nevertheless, to prosecute in a full graduated table naval war. The ships were in disrepair and the disposal was corrupt. Lord North, who was clueless when it came to war, advised the male monarch that he would salvage valuable money by cutting the navy & # 8217 ; s financess. The ships did play an of import function in providing the British military personnels in North America, though. Having to contend a war clear across an ocean was a major disadvantage for the British.
When the naval forces did come into drama it was merely apparent incompetent. A hapless communicating system and self-seeking Admirals did non assist England at all. Many admirals were sympathetic toward the American cause and under hard fortunes, they quit. They besides were invariably differing with each other because of personal beliefs or political orientations. The Earl of Sandwich was non on good footings with George Germain either.
Conflict among military leaders seemed to be a repeating subject in our treatments. Army leaders Clinton, Cornwallis and Howe couldn & # 8217 ; t agree on anything. Opposing sentiments and self-generated alterations in programs ( i.e. Howe & # 8217 ; s Philadelphia run ) assisted in the loss of the settlements.
When Howe bollixed the onslaught in the North a wholly new program of onslaught was necessary. Howe retired in early 1778 and Clinton took his topographic point. Clinton designed a new scheme for occupying the South and take Lord Cornwallis to put to death it.
While this was taking topographic point near the seashore, George Rogers Clark was winning conflicts for the Americans farther West. The native Americans sided with Britain in this war. This was one of the few advantages they had. British military personnels with Indian Alliess were hassling American garrisons around the Ohio Valley. Finally the Americans scored a decisive conflict at Vincennes. This made the mark Americans 7 ; Britishs 6.
Cornwallis began the onslaught on the South by taking Savannah, Georgia in 1778. After this conflict Clinton left him and went back to New York, heightening Cornwallis & # 8217 ; animus toward him. In May of 1780 Cornwallis pushed on to Charleston and won at that place. Shortly after that he defeated Horatio Gates at Camden. Washington reacted by replacing Gates with Nathaneal Greene. Cornwallis proceeded to Cowpens where he was defeated by Daniel Morgan in January of 1781. Undaunted, Cornwallis marched on. He received a paralysing blow in April at the Guilford Court House, losing most of his ground forces. It was cervix and cervix, and the mark was tied 9 to 9!
The run in the South failed chiefly because of two grounds. First, the British were depending on support from a big loyalist population in the southern provinces. This was grossly overestimated. Second, the Gallic had ships policing the seashores and made it hard for the British military personnels to land.
Cornwallis so withdrew to Wilmington, so refused an order from Clinton to direct portion of his 7000 adult male ground forces to New York, and alternatively went to Yorktown. This was his concluding error. When Washington led his combined land and sea onslaught, Cornwallis was trapped. At the terminal of September military forces led by Washington, Rochambeau, Wayne, Lafayette, and de Grasse descended upon Cornwallis & # 8217 ; work forces. His lone opportunity for flight ballad in the custodies of Admiral Graves, who was defeated by de Grasse because of his hapless judgement. Cornwallis & # 8217 ; destiny was sealed. He surrendered to Washington on October 17, 1781. The concluding mark was America 10, Great Britain 9.
It was a combination of many factors that caused England to lose the settlements. Alexis de Tocqueville wrote that a state & # 8217 ; s fate is determined by its initiation. The single settlements were each established with a certain sum of self-determination. That self-government blossomed over a century and a half into complete independency.
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