How British Imperial Policies Escalated Colonial Tensions

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Governors and Judges to remain loyal to England. The purpose being to help enforce trade regulation which was being ignored. These acts did not go over well with the colonists, prompting British military occupation of Boston, and eventually led to The Boston Massacre. The Townshend acts were repealed shortly after. Parliament subsequently passed a Declaratory Act which allowed them to tax the colonies however they wanted. A few years later the Tea Act of 1773 was set in place to help bail out the East India Company. Although it did not impose any new tax colonists were still angry because it would give the East India Company a monopoly on tea sales in the colonies. The culmination of all the backlash happened on December 16, 1773. The Sons of Liberty and their leader Samuel Adams boarded East India Company ships and dumped the tea they were carrying into the harbor. This event became known as The Boston Tea Party.

Overall, the British enforcement of new taxes on colonies led to increased bitterness toward England. This bitterness pushed the colonists to more republican values that can be seen in documents such as the Bill of Rights. The backlash shown by the colonists can be compared to what we see today with Trump. There was major controversy over trump’s travel ban and restriction on immigration. Just like when taxes were being imposed on us, people formed groups and organizations to protest against the restrictions. This goes to show that today’s Americans still stand up for what we think is right just like the colonists did with Great Britain.