Colonists' Life & Revolution

By European standards how did colonists' life in North America look? Why? What was the international context of the 18th century? What happened in the 1760s, early 1770s? Was the American Revolution a "straightforward series of events"? Why or why not?

European thought they had every right to do what they were doing in terms of raising revenue and controlling the the western frontier of the British colonies in North America.

The British in the late 1760s intended to use the new revenue to increase the number of British customs officials. A second big issue for the British in the 1760s and the 1770s was what to do with the newly-conquered territories, won from the French in Canada during the seven years’ war, this was land issue facing the British government. The last thing the British wanted in the 1760s was another large-scale series of wars in north America, which a British taxpayer would have to pay for. Many native Americans responded positively to this British policy in the 1760s and 1770s. In addition, In 1770s in Boston the British troops fired into an angry crowd killing five people, A key phrase American colonists used throughout the 1760s and 1770s was that British policies were designed to reduce us to slavery. At least 20% of Americans remained loyal to Britain during the American revolution. During the war and by its end, 100,000 Americans had gone into exile, to Canada, to the west Indies, or back to Britain because they disagreed with the patriotic view of British policies. Clearly, there were divisions in American society. It was not a straightforward story of unanimous opposition to British policies.

In 18th century, to the European and North American parts of the world, the American colonists were one of the most prosperous societies in the world. They were certainly the least taxed people in western Europe. From the point of view of the British government in London, the American colonies were part of a general world problem facing them in Canada, in the Florida’s, in the west Indies and in India.

It seems a straightforward series of events, American colonists responding to a series oppressive acts by the British, rallying around to fight the British and win their independence. But the American revolution was more complicated and interesting than this.

What kind of Revolution did the so called Americans create? How radical was it? How did American political culture change in the course of the American Revolution?

The revolution that began to open up questions about patriarchy, about society in general and how it should be organized, who should participate in politics, and questions began to be raised about