The Point of No Return

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The Point of No Return In 1763 Britain tended not to involve itself in the welfare of its colonies but after the expensive wars fought on American ground disputes arose over money. British troops had been left in America in case of further battle with the Red Indians or French-Canadians, beforehand the colonists had not been heavily taxed but the government viewed the fact that British troops were at hand in America as a profitable situation and therefore raised taxes with the excuse that the British troops were present for colonist defense. The government therefore enforced many trade laws to ensure a profit that was not being obtained due to the significant smuggling from French islands. Around the same period of time, i.e. 1765, the Stamp Act was also introduced, this ordered that paper used for legal documents, licenses and newspapers must carry an official stamp, another form of profit for the British government. Inevitably this enraged the colonists and resulted in many riots and protests. A congress in New York with representatives from nine colonies was held to file a complaint about the Stamp Tax, a notable achievement for the colonies against the British as it was one of the first times that the colonies had come together in order to express and assist one another against the influence of the British, or of any other dominance. These nine colonies asserted that no British subject could be taxed unless his representative sat as a member in the Parliament that voted the tax. This was not an entirely new proposal, but it did results in the repeal of the Stamp Act and was a definite build up to "The Point of No Return" as ... ... middle of paper ... ... By this time America was in quite a chaotic state, and relations with Britain were frail, "The Point of No Return" had long since been passed, though it is hard to specify exactly what this occasion was, the "Boston Massacre" seems the most plausible. It must be noted that it is not a single event that resulted in the fact that colonies could not turn back and return to the previous way of life, not that they necessarily desired this, but all of the events that took place under British government control. The prospect of wealth and liberty had originally attracted the colonists to America, and the concept of this being threatened by the British caused much resentment. This tension was rapidly built up over the events that took place in the mid 18th century, eventually resulting in American independence from Britain.

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