The Economic Causes of the American Revolutionary War

From The Seven Years War to Lexington & Concorde

During the 1750’s and 1760’s, Britain engaged in a war later known as the Seven Years War against certain native American Tribes as well as colonial interests from other European powers such as France and Spain. Such prolonged defense of the American Colonies strained Britain’s resources, leading members of parliament to suggest the Colonists help pay for the costs of maintaining and defending them.

Starting with updates to the Navigation Acts, the British government began imposing increasing levels of taxes on the colonists. The Stamp Act of 1765, in addition to the Townshend Acts was designed to increase revenue to the British.

When the Colonists became upset at such taxation without sufficient representation in Parliament, they began to rebel. In return, the British passed the Declaratory Act and d a series of acts later known as the Intolerable Acts, all designed to punish and reshape the colonial governance system to make it easier for the British to reign in.

Tensions rising from both sides, the Colonists could not tolerate any more what they felt was British economic and social repression, and the two sides descended into a state of war over economic and social independence.

The Navigation Acts

One of the early steps in the British plan to extract revenue from the Colonies was to step up enforcement of the then decades old Navigation Acts. These acts called for all English trade to be conducted using only English ships (Johnson 180). By only allowing English ships, Britain had direct control over the supply of ships, making it easy for British authorities to tax and regulate trade by cutting down on smuggling. Previously not heavily enforced, many American colonial merchants violated the law by smuggling goods in illegal ships in order to avoid paying import taxes (Johnson 180). Tightening this law allowed the British to cut into the profits and wellbeing of American merchants, further hurting their incentives to trade by sea (Johnson 181). This act planted the seed of malcontent with colonial merchants as they felt that laws affecting their livelihood were being thrust upon them without having acceptable levels of representation in Parliament.

The Threat of Government Restructuring and Encroachment of Liberties

The Boston Port Act