The statement "Great Britain taxed the colonies, but did not allow them to participate in politics" describes a factor that motivated American colonists to declare their independence from the British Empire. The American colonists believed that they were being taxed unfairly by the British government, and that they had no say in how they were being governed. This lack of political representation was a major source of frustration for the colonists, and it ultimately led to the American Revolution. The colonists believed that they should have the right to govern themselves, and that they should not be subject to taxes imposed by a government in which they had no voice. This principle of "no taxation without representation" became a rallying cry for the American Revolution, and it remains an important part of American political culture today.