The British Empire of the 18th to 20th century covered all the inhabited continents of the world and it was stated that the “Sun never sets in the British Empire”. (Lamb, 2004) However, though the British North America was a part of this Empire it was in reality a colony of the British Mainland.It was comprised of 13 colonies that emerged as the fundamental blue print of the modern United States. But all was not well in these 13 colonies and discontent was on rise that ultimately gave way to a new nation.It can be stated that there were several particular categories of problems and examples of historical events beginning in 1763 which manifest those problems and contributed to the reasons for separation from the empire. The main three aspects of this separation can be enumerated as Taxation, Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party.
TaxesOne of the most important and fundamental reason of this separation was taxes imposed on the British North American colonies. This movement of dissatisfaction over the British rule began during the summer of 1763 with the end of the Anglo French Seven Year War in the British North America. (Lamb, 2004) A special policy of taxation was issued that demanded a substantial amount of tax to be imposed on the colonial citizens in order to provide defending costs.Soon a series of new taxes were implemented upon the colonial population and they in turn began to consider these laws as illegitimate oppressions. This was because not only the taxes were a huge burden on the colonies it was also taken by the British Parliament where there were no representative of the colonies were barred to be present even though the colonies considered themselves to be true to the British Empire and believed themselves to be loyal subjects of the crown.
(King, 2006)This was the main cause of the will be separated from the British Empire but this was mainly economical and moral obligation or threat rather than a physical assault on the colonials by the British government. But the threat became more sinister and directly influenced the ignition of the American war of independence. (Lamb, 2004)Boston MassacreThe citizens of the colonies were already offended with the British Empire and discontents were rising day by day. On a chilling night of March in 1770 a huge group of people started protesting against the local authorities of the British Empire in Boston.They gathered at the gate of the office and started throwing snowballs at the office building.
(King, 2006) Soon there was a small troop of British soldiers attending to guard the building. The crowed became more volatile at the sight of the soldiers and started throwing brickbats and other debris towards the soldiers.As time passed the crowd further pulled in and looked more threatening than before. During this phase of the situation on of the soldiers fired a shot at the approaching crowd. A person was immediately killed. Soon the situation went out of control and there were still more firings.
The net result was eleven injured and out of those injured five died soon. Death of these people ignited a huge rage against the British soldiers and the colony was ready to indulge into violent conflict with the British Empire.It could well be stated that the stories of this ‘Boston Massacre’, as it was commonly known, stared to spread like wild fire and as it spread it incorporated rumors in it making the colonials furious against the British rule. The historical events were set for a great war of independence and it needed a final ignition to start the war and this was provided by the ‘Boston Tea Party’.
