Essay On Did The British Have The Right To Tax The American Colonies

I believe the British had the right to tax the American colonies because they were British territories, received protection from the British Army, and the people who lived there were considered British subjects. While the colonists were unrepresented in Parliament, the laws of Great Britain were clear that the taxation of the American Colonies was completely legal and well warranted. Up until the 1760’s the colonist had enjoyed tax-free living. However, in Great Britain the subjects there were under heavy tax burdens because of the ongoing Seven Years’ War in North America. To cover the cost of the war and the army in the Colonies, the British Parliament passed tax acts on the colonies. The colonists were certainly right in their arguments

The control of these territories fell to the King and Parliament. In 1760, King George II died and his grandson ascended to the throne of the British Empire. George II and his father before him had both been out of the way of Parliament and often let the Empire be governed by them. The same could not be said for George III as he plagued both Parliament and the colonies. Firstly, King George III was a tedious micromanager and came to appear as the head of the Tories in Parliament against the fading Whigs. Secondly, George III often appointed Yes-men to higher office because George III would not tolerate independent thinkers and disposed of them so he could command Parliament. When George III passed the Navigation Act, which forbids settlers from creating outposts west of the Appalachian Mountains, he was met with defiance from the colonists. King George, as a result, became enraged at the colonies and allowed Parliament to tax them because they were British subjects and had earned the wrath of the king. While King George may have become impartial to the colonists, Parliament did not feel this same wrath. The leaders of Parliament had realized that taxing the Colonies would be the only way to uplift the British economy as subjects in Britain were already paying half their earnings to the government. To tax the native British further would incite revolution. Thus, Parliament took the correct action in

Even before the Seven Years’ War the British Army had protected the American Colonies. From 1689 to 1763, the British Army was almost continually at war with the French and their allies in North America. The British Army was there to “protect” the colonists, but were primarily dispatched to protect the territories economic benefits. However, many colonists needed this protection on the frontier as Native American tribes began to resist the colonial expansion. During times of war in the North America, the French allied Indian tribes would make incursions into the colonial settlements of the British slaughtering and mercilessly killing all who were there. Only by way of the British Army would these colonists and settlers be safe from Native raids. However, as with all armies the soldiers needed to be paid and the resources necessary for the wars were costly. Following the end of the Seven Years’ War, the British Empire gained all the land between the Appalachian Mountains and Mississippi River. To properly defend this, the British government was forced to station a large standing army to protect these new territories and those who settled within them. This large army in combination with the expenses of the Seven Years’ War, pushed the former debt of 75 million pounds to 133 million pounds (Tax History). This forced parliamentary leaders to search for ways to