Essay on First War of Independence Text

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The american revolution is a historical event that provokes the true spirit of nationalism in many americans. They honor the proactive fathers, shake their fists at oppressive england, and applaud at the legends of daring and headship. It has always been the curiosity among the people that how the americans of the 18th century got along with the victory. The indian rebellion of 1857 is also known as indias first war of independence, the great rebellion, the indian mutiny, the revolt of 1857, the uprising of 1857, the sepoy rebellion and the sepoy mutiny. The many names are the result of the conflicts continuing importance to indias national sense of identity. The first of a series of wars of independence that ended european control of both north and south america.

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The conflict between britain and her american colonists was triggered by the financial costs of the anglo french wars of the previous thirty years, in particular the seven years war 1756 63. A principal theatre of conflict had been in north america, where it was felt that the colonials had failed to play their part either financially or in the fighting. In the years immediately after the war, the army in north america consumed 4% of british government spending. This cost, combined with the victories over the french had increased british interest in their colonies.

Ironically, those victories had also removed one element tying the americans to britain fear of french strangulation. In 1756, the french held canada, the ohio valley and the mississippi, isolating the british colonies on the eastern seaboard. At the heart of the division between the colonists and britain was a fundamentally different concept of the purpose of the colonies. To the british, their american lands were there largely to provide raw materials to britain and be consumers of british manufactured goods.

This feeling expressed itself in an increasing control and restriction of american trade and industry that helped to build up resentment, especially in new england, where manufacturing goods for export to the southern colonies was already an important part of the local economy. In contrast, many of the colonists saw themselves as carving a new society from the wilderness, unrestricted by decisions made 3,0 miles away across the atlantic. These pressures were tolerable as long as british regulation of the rules was fairly lax. However, in the decade before the colonies rebelled there was a new level of interest in exploiting the american colonies.

In 1763 it was decided to draw a border behind the existing colonies, along the line of the alleghenies. The land to the west was to be left to the indians, who were to be encouraged to become consumers of british goods. New colonists were to be encouraged to go north to nova scotia, where they could produce much needed timber for the navy, or south to florida. This limit on their expansion caused much discontent amongst the colonies, costing many, including george washington, a good deal of money. The next increase in the tension came in 1765 with the stamp act and a trade act know as the sugar act. This was a direct tax, levied on the paper required for legal transactions and on newspapers. It had been proposed in 1764, and the americans had been given the year to suggest alternative methods of raising the money needed to administer and defend the colonies.

First, the policy of limiting westward expansion that it was intended to help fund was not popular in the colonies. Second, it was the first direct taxation to be imposed on the colonies from london. Finally, the act brought to the fore an issue that was bound to eventually emerge the status of the legislative assemblies that existed in several of the colonies.