How Did Britain Abuse Their Power In The 18th Century

During the 18th century, the acts and policies Britain enforced on the colonists strengthened their resistance to British rule and their republican values. The British began to continuously abuse their power over the colonies. As a result, the colonies united against the British and started to fight against their rule.
Starting in 1763, policies likes the Grenville program and the Sugar Act united the colonists against the British, despite their own internal conflicts. Numerous acts were placed on the colonies during 1764, such as the Sugar Act and the Currency Act. The Sugar Act lowered the duty on molasses and increased the duty on sugar, even forming new courts to try smugglers. The Currency Act enforced that none of the colonies would be

able to print or use paper money. Colonists couldn’t oppose these acts at first, as most colonies were in conflict with each other, but the impact of the Grenville program helped colonists see the danger of the British policies. In 1765, the Mutiny Act was put into action, forcing colonists to help maintain the British army. British soldiers were permanently stationed in America, making this act even harder on colonists. Colonists had to be able to provide for themselves, so having to take care of British soldiers put a considerable amount of strain on them. British soldiers also interfered with the manufacturing businesses in the colonies so they wouldn’t compete with British industries. This hurt the livelihood of many colonist merchants and the separate economies of each colony. The effect of these acts on the colonists made them realize that the British were challenging the politics and republican government of the colonies. The policies interfered with colonist ideals such as self-government. This marked the beginning of the revolts against British rule.
Through the mid-1760s, the tension between America and England were rising. Americans were beginning to fight against the policies that they believed to be harmful to the colonies. An example of such rebellion is seen in the response of colonists to the Stamp Act of 1765. The Stamp Act had a great impact upon Americas, as it affected everyone. Taxes were put on all kinds of printed documents; newspapers, pamphlets, books, and more were heavily taxed upon. The British made ten times more money than they had ever made in the colonies because of this act. The British used the Stamp Act so they could raise revenue from America without the consent of the colonists, which angered the colonists. Unfortunately, the colonists thought they couldn’t fight against the act until Patrick Henry made a speech that May. He said the colonies shouldn’t have to pay taxes that weren’t enforced by their representatives and that Americans had the same liberties as the British. This riled up the colonists against British rule, and funnily enough, at the same time James Otis convinced the members of the colonial assembly to call a congress meeting to fight against the new act. Through the summer of 1765, people all over the colonies were getting together to protest against the Stamp Act. Mobs of people even attacked English aristocrats, but things soon calmed down because the English gave in and repealed the law. The colonists were beginning to realize the threat the British posed upon their government and began to fight against them.