Rising Tension During The American Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary War was fought from 1775 to 1783. The war ended when thirteen North American colonies won political independence and proceeded to form the United States of America. The American Revolutionary war started after a decade of rising tension between the British crown and the influential segment of the North American colonies. The rising tension had been triggered by the British, who were claiming greater control over the affairs of the colonies.

Up to the early 1778, the conflict had been a civil war in the British Empire, but it became a global war later after the unification of France in 1778, followed by Spain in 1779, and Netherlands in 1780 against Britain. Since the beginning of the war, sea power was influential

Such strategies included cutting off trade in order to isolate the economy of American colonies from the outside world. Since the British army was more powerful compared to that of the American colonies, Britain had total control over the American ports. Also, the British had control of the port cities located along the colonial east coast. The move saw the number of ships leaving the American colonies reduce. Consequently, the goods exported from U.S. reduced because of that hindrance. The naval strength of England was significant because it prevented other countries from supplying to the colonies. The result was that the smuggled, as well as the inexpensive imports, became costly and

For instance, Great Britain had spent an average of twelve million dollars each year. At the end of the war, Britain had a national debt of two-hundred and fifty million dollars, which generated an interest rate of more than 9.5 million dollars annually. On top of that, Britain had incurred another huge debt during the Seven Years ' War. The debts made the British population experience drastic tax increases over the years. Extra duty was charged on items like lead and glass. In fact, the average tax on the British people became four shillings for each pound. Trade between Great Britain and the thirteen American colonies also collapsed, causing many British business people to suffer financially. The overseas market also dried up. Income from the sale of metal and woolen products also dropped sharply because overseas trade decreased sharply during the war period. The war also affected British merchant sailors, as 3,386 British merchant ships were seized by the colonist armies. These were some of the contributors to the