Question # 1 The political climate in England during the 1760s was one of desperation and uncertainty. Desperate because when the French and Indian War ended, England was in debt. Their national debt almost doubled from £75 million in 1754 to £133 million in 1763 and they needed to pay off some of that debt (Tax History, 2016, p.2). The capital had been borrowed from both British and Dutch banks.…
Oliver Cromwell is an important figure in English history as he held a unique position of ruling as ‘Lord Protector’ instead of a monarch. This could result in Cromwell being perceived as a military dictator because the legality of his rule could be questioned. In addition to this he could be seen as an opportunist for military power because his increase in status was due to his role in the army in the First and Second English Civil Wars from 1642 to 1649 and he rose to prominence after the execution and abolition of monarchy on the 30th of January 1649. However, Cromwell not being part of the traditional constitution does not mean he should be viewed as a military dictator. The first section of this essay will portray how Cromwell in terms…
A- Plan of investigation Research Question: To what extent was King George acting like a tyrant to the American colonists? Method: The investigation will look into primary sources, such as the taxes that were issued during that time and analyze the legitimacy behind the taxes. In addition to some books that will be discussed that were written regarding the American colonists.…
Throughout the 18th century, Americans developed a different government system with unique beliefs that no other country had used before. By adopting a regular government but adding a democratic spin on it, America allowed every person to have a voice in the country’s decision. Constructing new concepts and new governmental freedoms created a distinguished identity for America. Colonists accepted this new identity – completely different from the British – this was the motivation that inspired their rebellion against Britain. However, being tormented by insignificant quarrels prevented the Americans from adequately uniting against Britain.…
The dynamism and ideas of Oliver Cromwell both ran dry when he realised the resistance he still faced in the Parliament and he had to dissolve it for the second time, feeling like God had deserted him. Sickness prevented him from saving the ruins of his Republic and by the end of the 1650s, all his work at the head of the Commonwealth had been wiped away. We will see which mistakes he made at the end of his rule, and then we will discuss his long-term…
19th century Britain was a place experiencing massive change in almost every facet of life. The industrialization of the country radically altered its economy, attempts to close the wage gap altered it socially, a century of wars and complex foreign affairs altered its geopolitical landscape, and calls for equality among the citizens changed it politically. More specifically, these calls for equality drastically changed the electorate of Britain and led to more equal representation in Parliament and the elimination of corruption via the Reform Act of 1832. This act, passed under the administration of Earl Grey, helped to add a significant portion of the population to the electorate and eliminated many of the corrupt methods of controlling the election of Members of Parliament.…
All eyes were on England and their colonies in the mid to late 1700’s. Other countries were watching the escalating tensions between the British Colonies and their mother country. To have the audacity to completely mount a rebellion was unheard of, although, the Colonists were left with no choice. England’s actions were radical and disrespectful at the least, and without them, there would not have been a revolution. England brought the revolution upon themselves, by enforcing the Currency Act, the Intolerable Acts and by fighting in the battles of Lexington and Concord.…
Along with having to cope with the disturbance of not having a stable government to control and rely on that came with Salutary Neglect from Britain, the colonies then had to deal with the new laws and the taxes that were eventually put in place starting in the mid eighteenth century that restricted much of what they had free control over beforehand. Starting in the 1750s, the colonies were located along the coast (Doc 7) of the United States. Because of their location, it enabled them to gain power, and eventually grow to gain more money that would lead them to have enough to grow big enough to break away from the Crown, because the ocean ports allowed for easier trade with the different countries. As time went on however, the British government…
In the seventeenth century, Europe was undergoing drastic movements such as the Protestant Reformation and the Enlightenment. These movements significantly impacted a citizen’s relationship with their government, how they practiced religion, and their overall perception of the role and capabilities of institutions. Not only were these new ideas present in Europe, but they also diffused to colonies such as America. During the period 1607 to 1754, Enlightenment philosophy influenced Americans politically by causing colonists to view their government as an institution designed to serve their needs and ensure their natural rights, religiously by inspiring Americans to practice their faith without dependency on religious officials in societies such…
Birthed after the existing Greek constitution, the Greek Rhetra was attributed to the works of Lycurgus. It was a body of laws and regulations that governed Spartans. From this grew a system of government founded on a military state. Shaped by minor reforms on the many smaller laws in Sparta, the Great Rhetra saw the strengthening of various institutions. This included the education, financial and military.…
There were many forms of government during the seventeenth and eighteenth century in Europe. Although two forms that were used the most were democracy and absolutism. A democracy puts power in the hands of the people, whereas absolutism gave complete authority and unlimited power to a ruler. Both of these forms of government were effective in their own way. Absolutism, however, was most effective at the time.…
This monarchy of sorts caused a certain hierarchy in Colonial America. Before and after the American Revolution, Colonial America had a system of superiors and inferiors which was caused by a lack of a unified central power besides the monarchy overseas and the weak Articles of Confederation. “Popular upheavals were central to the way that British power in America came to its end, and they were central as well to the beginnings of republicanism. ”2 The beginning of republicanism led to single members of society rising to the challenge of creating a new system in which…
In Linda Colley’s book Britons, she takes a shot at combining numerous components of Britain in the eighteenth century to form an understanding of what exactly made up the British identity. Colley’s book is organized well and her arguments are always thoroughly backed up with evidence. Colley makes it very clear that she believes Dominance and Majesty are two elements that encompassed the British identity in the eighteenth century. The overwhelming evidence and support that Colley provides for this assertion makes it near impossible to disagree with her.…
In the year 1760, when King George III took the throne of Great Britain, no person could have presumed the rebelliousness that would take place over the next two decades. With…
Following the conclusion of The French and Indian War, England was faced with a at least two problems pertaining to her North American colonies that needed to be addressed. The first of which was how to recover from the burden of an enormous amount of debt that had befallen on England secondary to their war efforts. The second was how to control and govern the newly gained territories gained from the French with the treaty of 1763. England’s answer to these two problems for came in the form of numerous social and economic constraints such as taxes, acts, and programs imposed on the colonists in an effort to establish greater control. Ultimately however, England’s efforts to gain greater control were unsuccessful largely due to leading the colonists to believe that England was encroaching on their believed right for fair representation and self-governing, and the final result was uniting the colonists against a common enemy in what eventually would become The American Revolution.…