Why did America and Great Britain's relationship change in the 1700's?

Answer 1

According to the text books that we were spoon-fed in the U.S. (during the late 1970s and well into the 1980s) the reasons given were varied. However, the overriding thrust of the text centered on what Americans referred to as Britain's "aggression." This is Propaganda, but there was some truth to it. America was a colony of Britain at the time. The problem was that people living here felt disconnected from the crown -- at least, about 1/3 of the did. 1/3 of them were loyal to Britain, and about 1/3 didn't care. So, the 2/3 of people living here without strong ties to Britain made it possible for the colony to secede and to create a new country. According to James Burke ("Connections," Episode 7) Pine Tar was responsible largely for driving a wedge between the colonies and Great Britain. This was only one part of the overall reason, but in all, those who wanted to make money here in America were being unfairly taxed. And it didn't help that Britain saw the colonies as being their property -- so they weren't ready to "negotiate." (Think of having a child who lives in your house, and think of "negotiating" with that child. Preposterous, right?) Well, to Britain, America was an unruly child, and needed to be taught a lesson. Enter the "Revolutionary" war (which was really a secessionist war) and you have the final result of the reason why the relationship changed.