Cutting off the colonist’s trade with the rest of the world a colony's financial complaint against British trade policies. By enforcing several rules that became increasingly onerous by the 1770s, the British prohibited the colonies from trading with any other country, including France, Spain, and other countries.

Question

Explain how the grievance is a direct response to a specific British action.

Answer 1

The grievance of cutting off the colonists' trade with the rest of the world is a direct response to a specific British action called the Navigation Acts. The Navigation Acts were a series of laws passed by the British government in the late 17th and early 18th centuries that aimed to control colonial trade for the economic benefit of Britain.

Under the Navigation Acts, the British imposed strict regulations on colonial trade. One of the most significant measures was the requirement that all colonial trade must be conducted on British ships. This meant that the colonies were prohibited from trading with any other country using their own vessels. As a result, the colonists were forced to rely solely on British ships, which often charged higher fees and imposed restrictive trade terms.

Furthermore, the Navigation Acts also restricted the colonies' ability to trade specific goods with countries other than Britain. For example, certain goods like tobacco and sugar could only be exported to Britain, limiting the colonies' potential markets and profits.

By the 1770s, these trade policies had become increasingly onerous and burdensome for the colonists. The British maintained a monopoly on colonial trade, exploiting their control for their own economic gain while suppressing the growth of the colonial economy. This directly led to a situation where the colonies' financial interests were being harmed, and they were unable to freely engage in lucrative trade with other countries.

Consequently, the colonists' grievance of being cut off from trading with the rest of the world was a direct response to the specific action of the British government through the implementation of the Navigation Acts. This grievance played a crucial role in the growing discontent and eventual push for independence among the American colonists.