Final answer:
Preston portrays the colonists' actions as peaceful attempts to rectify oppressive British policies, often met with further injury.
Their efforts reflect the escalating tension due to British mercantilist policies, taxes without consent, and encroachment on colonial self-government, leading to the drive for independence.
Step-by-step explanation:
The colonists repeatedly submitted petitions in the most humble terms, seeking a peaceful resolution to their grievances. These petitions, however, were met with repeated injury, an indication of how the British government's disregard and successive injuries led to an escalation in colonial actions.
Significant in this historical period was the mercantilist policies enforced by the British, which attempted to exert greater political control and regulate trade, ultimately impacting the colonists' standard of living and political rights.
While the colonists valued the English Bill of Rights and believed in their liberties as British citizens, the British control and introduction of new taxes without their consent, as well as the various acts that undermined colonial self-government, contributed to the growing sentiment of rebellion. This led to the actions described by Preston and the eventual drive toward declaring independence.