THE LOSS OF THE AMERICAN COLONIES 1770-83

• THE SUGAR ACT (1764): lowered taxes on sugar from 6p to 3p, forcing merchants to pay the tariff instead of smuggling produce into the ports

  → resented by merchants and affected the cost of alcohol

  → impacted a small amount of people, however it was the symbolism of ‘taxation without representation’ that aggravated the mass population
• THE STAMP ACT (1765): fixed taxes on all formal documents

  → imposed on marriage licences, newspapers, mortgages, playing cards etc.

  → this was widely and vigorously opposed by colonial assemblies
• TOWNSHEND DUTIES (1767): Townshend Duties were introduced by the British to bring duties (taxes) onto imports of glass/wine/china/lead/paper/paint/tea

  • British perspective - duties were light, expecting to bring in £40,000 annually as another attempt to pay of 7 Years War debt (£140,000,000)
  • Colonist reaction - highly inflammatory, the British ignored the anti-tax campaigns after Sugar and Stamp Acts and had implemented more taxation legislation
• Agents of the Crown = agents of the colonial government who were tasked with collecting revenue duties during the 1760s, often faced tarring and feathering from colonists
• Sons of Liberty = parliamentary opposition, originally centred in Boston, set up to organise resistance to British taxation in the 1760s, ensured Boston was the centre of anti-British activity
• THE BOSTON MASSACRE (1770): Sons of Liberty led a mob of civilians in reaction to British integration into colonist living, British soldiers shot down the crowd. British were acquitted by John Adams, gaining great publicity)
• 1770-73: ‘Years of Calm’ WHY NOT THE BRINK OF REBELLION

  1. Last minute repeal of Townshend Duties (1770): no resolution between British + colonists’ tensions over taxes but the repeal dampened their rage temporarily
  2. Significant number of loyalists: 20% population = loyalists, meant they stayed loyal to British crown, were not prepared to join conflict
  3. Colonists were unsatisfied and unorganised:
• THE TEA ACT (1773): allowed East India Company to trade directly with America, without passing through British Ports therefore cheaper tea and more profits for Britain

  → meant more taxes on American Colonies, therefore colonists were increasingly angry

  Colonist reaction: Committees of Correspondence condemned act, encouraged boycotts, civil disobedience

  → e.g. tea sent to Philadelphia and New York was rejected and sent back
• THE BOSTON TEA PARTY (16 DECEMBER 1773): £10,000 (342 chests) of tea was thrown by 60 Sons of Liberty rebels into the sea at the Boston port, in response to building tensions

  British reaction: pure outrage, isolated Boston and Massachusetts, locked down city under military control, impact of hardline British policies sent 13 colonies into rebellion
• THE INTOLERABLE ACTS (1774): introduced by British to isolate Boston and force patriots into submission, closed Boston port until tea repaid in full, gave the governor more powers, more military powers to commanders, transferred murder trials to Britain

  Result: first military engagements at Lexington and Concord, Continental Congress met and began drafting the Declaration of Independence
• ENLIGHTENMENT IDEAS (1690-): John Locke wrote Two Treaties of Government, saying the government should protect ‘life, liberty and prosperity’

  → ideas were encouraging rebels and echoed in the Declaration of Independence
• Rebellion to Revolution, 1775-76

  • The Coercive Acts failed to succeed in isolating Boston. Colonial Assemblies continued to meet in defiance of British Law, in the first Continental Congress of 1774
  • Supported by the views of Radicals
  • The Committees of Correspondence became Committees of Safety and took over most of the day-to-day running of America 
  • Britain declared Massachusetts to be in Rebellion on 9th Feb 1775
  • Some proposed dropping all the duties on America, but this was rejected by the House of Lords
• • Lexington and Concord: General Gage knew where rebel weapons were stockpiled and had unsuccessfully attempted to seize munitions in Salem in 1775
  • Gage attempted a secret mission to Concord to seize or destroy a military store, British troops were met by 75 volunteers at Lexington who started firing. They pushed onto Concord and destroyed the stores, but were steadily fired on. 
  • Boston was besieged by 20,000 colonial militia. 
• • Bunker Hill: Reinforcements arrived in Boston with British generals Howe, Clinton and Burgoyne on 26th May 1775, with a few thousand more troops.
  • The British attempted a full frontal assault against the rebels at the Battle of Bunker Hill on 17 June. suffered heavy losses
  • George III issued a Proclamation on 23rd August 1775 declaring all colonies to be in open rebellion 
• Second Continental Congress of 1775 

  • Issued paper money to try and meet some costs of war
  • Made George Washington the commander of the new Continental Army
  • Formal declarations of Independence were slowed by the intellectual and personal journey towards independence, open communication with local committees 
  • Members of the continental congress worked hard to reach a consensus - and still ensured every step had been taken (Olive Branch Petition of July 1775) 
• Articles of Confederation

  • All powers not specifically granted to Congress were reserved by the states. Congress had no right to enforce taxes or regular trade
  • All states had to agree to an amendment to the Constitution
  • Congress could declare war, borrow and issue money, draw up treaties and alliances with foreign powers, deal with Native American affairs and regulate post offices
  • There was no president, each state had one vote regardless of size. 
• Why were the British defeated?

  • British weaknesses: struggled to maintain troops in North America as forces were divided and supply lines were elongated; lack of direction from London.
  • American strengths: Washington was a skilled leader, with terrain and climate knowledge of North America.
• Victory at Saratoga:

  • Retreat to Saratoga in 1777 was a turning point of the war; it was the first British defeat by the colonist rebels.
  • General Burgoyne was overconfident in his plan to lead British troops from the Canadian border to meet other troops stationed around New York.
  • His plan was not coordinated with Generals Clinton and Howe and as a result he found his troops surrounded by American troops and was forced to surrender.
• French and Spanish entry into the war:

  • The French allied with America for the following reasons: Benjamin Franklin’s successful campaign, their long-term rivalry with the British, desire to regain territory lost in the Seven Years’ War.
  • The French declared war on the British in June 1778, with Spain entering as an ally in June 1779.
• French and Spanish entry significance: 

  • By 1778, 65% of the army was in North America and by 1780, 20% of the army was stationed back in England due to fear of invasion.
  • The intervention of the French Fleet at Chesapeake Bay was vital for the defeat of the British at Yorktown.
  • The Spanish had cleared British forces from the Mississippi Valley in 1781.
• The British defeat at Yorktown:

  • Following the events at Saratoga, Britain decided to move their focus onto the South which they believed would be more Loyalists.
  • However, Britain relied on their ability to keep Yorktown and control Chesapeake Bay; yet Washington was able to lead an army of 16,000 American and French troops where he laid siege for  3 weeks whilst the French fleet controlled the bay.
  • General Cornwallis surrendered in October 1781.
• Peace of Paris: 

  • Signed by Britain, France, Spain and Holland on 3rd September 1783.
  • Most significant clauses were: ther recognition of American Independence and the division of imperial possessions between France, Spain and Britain.
• Impact of British defeat:

  • Increased national debt (£232 million)
  • Disrupted trade with the colonies and Europe
  • Power remained in the hands of the monarch despite calls for political reform.