How did the British rule the American colonies for 150 years and then lose them in 12 years?

There are several factors to examine when analyzing how the British could rule the colonies for 150 years and then lose them in such a short period of time. It probably would be more appropriate to say they lost them over a twenty-year period from 1763-1783.

The first point to consider is that for many years, the colonists were in no position to challenge the British, and they had no reason to challenge them. When the colonies were first established, the colonists were focused on surviving in these new lands. They were content to let the British be in charge of many things. Survival was the key word, not independence.

Another important point to consider is that the British were very lax in enforcing their own rules. The Navigation Acts were often ignored. The colonists bought items from other countries instead of buying them from Great Britain. They also used ships of other countries to get supplies. Since the British often didn’t enforce their own rules, the colonists felt it was acceptable to not follow them.

The third consideration is that the colonies were very profitable for many years. The British were making a lot of money from their colonies. Once the British saw their expenses rise, then they started to do things that began to upset the colonists.

When the British tried to shift some of the expenses of running the colonies to the colonists, the British experienced significant resistance. The colonists wanted to move to the land Great Britain received from France as a result of winning the French and Indian War. They were prevented from doing that with the Proclamation of 1763, and the colonists had to provide housing for the British soldiers who were enforcing this unpopular law. The colonists were upset that tax laws were passed without the colonists having representatives in Parliament that could speak about and vote on these proposed tax laws. The colonists felt their rights were being violated when the Stamp Act and the Townshend Acts were passed. When some colonists were killed in the Boston Massacre, and when the British tried to punish the colonists for the Boston Tea Party by passing the Intolerable Acts, the colonists knew that declaring independence was becoming more likely. After the battles at Lexington and at Concord, many people knew that a war was becoming more and more probable.

The Declaration of Independence was written and adopted. This led to the Revolutionary War. The British generals made many mistakes that led to costly defeats on the battlefield. Meanwhile, George Washington led the Americans. He was an outstanding military leader. As the Americans won battles, they began to get help from France and from Spain. The Americans were also fighting for a cause and were fighting on familiar territory. These factors helped us win the Revolutionary War, giving us our independence from Great Britain when the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783.

Thus, the British lost their colonies in a short period of time after having had firm control over them for many, many years.