This shift in imperial strategy, from a policy of "salutary neglect" to one of active oversight, sowed the first seeds of discontent among colonists who were accustomed to managing their own local affairs. The Townshend Acts of 1767 imposed duties on imported goods such as glass, lead, paint, and tea.
Causes Leading To The Revolutionary War
Colonists saw this not as a concession, but as a trick to make the tax—and the principle of parliamentary supremacy—more acceptable. London, deeply in debt, viewed the newly expanded empire as a resource to be managed and taxed.
When the British government eventually repealed the Stamp Act in 1766, it simultaneously passed the Declaratory Act, asserting its absolute authority to legislate for the colonies "in all cases whatsoever. In response, the Boston Tea Party occurred in December 1773, when colonists disguised as Native Americans boarded ships and dumped an entire shipment of tea into Boston Harbor.
Causes Leading To The Revolutionary War
Colonists argued that as Englishmen, they were entitled to the same rights as those living in Britain, including the right to consent to their own taxation. This was not merely a financial burden; it was a constitutional challenge, as it was implemented without any colonial representation in Parliament.
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