A Radical Revolution

In the late 18th century the Colonists reached the precipice of frustration resulting from the tyrannical abuse of the British monarchy, causing them to want to abandon the motherland and be their own independent country. While some taxes were imposed such as the Navigation Acts and Plantation Duty Act, the Sugar Act of 1764 was a main catalyst, followed by the Stamp Act (1765), Townshend Acts (1767) and the Tea Act (1773). The progression of the taxation and lack of representation in England created hostility toward the Crown. Several leaders sensed this growing tension, realizing the issue of representation was central to the issue, yet the Crown was refused any overtures to change the circumstances. Actions taken to revolt against the …show more content…
The imposition of taxes on tea, paper, lead, and glass that was imported from Great Britain and additionally was used to pay officer salaries in the colonies (Danver, 2011). The Tea Act passed on may of 1973, caused one of the most historical revolts of all time, the Boston Tea party; in which colonist dressed as native Americans and climbed aboard one of the trade ships dumping the tea into the Boston harbor. According to , the colonists dressed as Native American “tossed all 342 chests into Boston Harbor—90,000 pounds of tea (Wright, “ radical townspeople stormed the ships... tossed 342 chests of tea” (Boston Tea Party) into the water. The amount of tea tossed into the water that night was estimated to “exceed three quarters of a million dollars” (Boston Tea Party) in modern American monetary value. Although the taxes placed upon the colonist were extravagant and unjust this wasn 't the only thing the colonist grew tired …show more content…
The constant looting and pillaging of the trade ships caused strife among the British government and the colonist. The Intolerable Acts include the Administration of Justice Act in which “impartial administration of justice in the cases of persons questioned” (Administration of Justice) for any crimes against the crown in the Massachusetts territory. The Massachusetts government Act allowed the British government the full capacity to make sure the revolts and rebellious behavior was strictly watched and monitored. Later the Quartering Act followed by the Quebec Act was passed in 1774, resulting in even more distaste for the British Government These last few actions by the British government was the last straw and soon the first Continental congress meeting was scheduled to meet september 5th to october 26th 1774 a year before the war