how the colonists were able to defeat the greatest world power of their time.

The following led to the defeat of the greatest world power there was.

After the French and Indian war. Effects upon colonists:

• gain military experience and confidence


• sans need for colonial unity to overcome problems


• less dependence on British armed troops

Effect upon the British:

• believed that the colonists had not help enough in the war

General outcome:

• only use British and colonial ships


• specific materials could only be sold to Britain (tobacco, sugar, indigo, and furs)


• import only from Britain or pay duty on foreign goods.

New taxes and laws created by Egeland:

• sugar act(1764): reduced existing Texas on import from Caribbean but made tax collection very strict.


• Stamp act(1765): first internal tax. One had to purchase stamps (pay tax) to put on printed materials like Wales, newspapers, etc.


• Townshend act(1767): Britain put new taxes on import of paper, glass, paint, and tea.


• Proclamation of 1763: King George the third declared that colonists could no longer settle west of Apollonichin Mountains.


• Quartering act of 1765: the law required colonists to provide British soldiers with food and living quarters when requested.

Outcome by the colonists:

• stamp acts Congress(1765): delegates from nine colonies met in NY to create plan to stand against the stamp act.


• Colonists asserted they posessed rights of Englishmen.


• They agreed that they could only be taxed by colonial legislatures and not by the Parliament.


• Colonial boycott of British goods.

Boston tea party:

• colonial merchants who had smuggled tea from Holland to avoid tea taxes now could not compete.


• Colonists sunk barrels of tea into the ocean to symbolize their resistance against the law.

The outcome of everything:

• as an outcome tension grew more and more between New England and Great Britain which led to conflict. Soon the colonists had enough of all the new laws and new taxes that have to be paid and wanted to become independent. As some papers were written about the King and how he was unfair, the colonists of New England decided to become independent from New England. By the time the Second Continental Congress convened on May 10, 1775, war had already broken out in Massachusetts. Battles had been fought between Massachusetts soldiers and British military forces in the towns of Lexington and Concord. War had not been declared, but citizen soldiers were ready to fight. The British decided to use Hessian soldiers to fight against the colonists. They were mostly German mercenaries who would fight for money. The colonists feared these soldiers and hated Britain for using them.Washington decided to attack.The French were supplying the colonists with what they needed for the war, but all was done in secret.In 1779 Spain decided to be in the war against the British. Soon the British were also fighting the Dutch to stop their trade with America. The war was over. Colonial and French forces had captured or killed half of the British armey. The surviving British troops left Yorktown singing a song called, "The World Turned Upside Down."