Question

Why did the British attempt to raise taxes in the colonies during the second half of the 1700s?

A.)To pay for the French and Indian War.
B.)To fight the threat from Napoleon.
C.)To finance colonial social programs.
D.)To pay for Native American territory.

Answer 1

A.) To pay for the French and Indian War.

Step-by-step explanation:

One of the main reasons that the colonists wanted to break away and become independent from Great Britain was because they kept trying to unfairly tax them.

Numerous tax laws were put on the colonists, taxing things like paper products or even taxing tea. The colonists thought this was very unfair, as they had nobody in the British Parliament to vouch for them. This is known as "taxation without representation."

Great Britain tried to say that the taxes were justified because they had to pay for the debt of the French and Indian War, which was very expensive and fought on American soil. They also said that since they were protecting the colonists with British troops, they should have the right to tax them.

Obviously, the colonists still disagreed and thought the taxing was unfair, which caused them to eventually boycott products that contained the tax and even in some cases become violent.