Why did Britain allow the 13 colonies to have their independance?

Question

For such a big powerful military , isnt it strange that they would let go over control of such vast wealth?

Answer 1

Well they tried to contain us, but after numerous acts restraining our freedom, the American colonies had had enough.

After the Stamp Act, of course the Boston Tea Party happened.

Thomas Paine expressed the opinions of many rebels in "Common Sense," planting the impressionable ideas of freedom and independence into the colonists minds.

Then came the Declaration of Independence.

As you've pointed out, the British weren't happy. They wanted to keep the colonies, and quell this little rebellion.
But try as they might, even after killing so many in battle after battle, they could not contain the dream of freedom.

Francis Marion led a group of colonial militia through the swamps and forests he knew so well, creating an unstoppable force of surprise attacks.

Lafayette came over from France, very young, and aided us in the war.

Eventually our long lost friends, the French finally arrived, and stopped the British from fleeing at Yorktown. George Washington had successfully led the Americans to victory.

No matter the size of the army, the power of a country, or the determination of a king, nothing can ever bind the dream that is freedom.

Answer 2

The American Revolution started because Parliament and the King wanted the American colonists to HELP pay for their defense. The war against the French had to be paid for. They had to continue paying to contain and fight the Indians. They had to keep the navy afloat to fight pirates. It was damn expensive.

Then the war starts and the army has to start killing colonists now too, and that was even more expensive. Then the French join and make it even worse. Funny thing is no one in the colonies wants to stop selling lumber, fur pelts, tobbacco, metals, fish etc to Britain. That hardly slowed down at all even though these same people were shooting at the King's soldiers.

So they gave up and left.

Then the trade picked up even more. Then the Americans started paying ALL the bill to fight the Indians. Then the Americans founded their own navy and began chasing the pirates all on their tab. Hell, they even ramped production up on their own merchant fleet and started delivering their trade goods to Britain. Then they got into it with the Spanish and the southern tribes, shipped in a whole bunch of slaves and became a DIRT CHEAP source of cotton all on their own dime.

Why did Britain allow the thirteen colonies have their independance. My question in response would be why travel half way around the world and pay for something in blood when you could just buy it at the dock for cash?

Answer 3

The Empire became high priced to maintain, and Britain became contemporary technique a intense submit-conflict austerity application. India became incredibly the substantial. Gandhi, gratitude for the centers of Indian troops in WWII, basic British decency, and financial exigencies all converged to make granting independence to India and Pakistan maximum lifelike element. besides, a great form of the African colonies have been obtained to guard the two of the two routes to India. while that became longer mandatory, the financial burden of the African colonies (consisting of those foisted upon the government with the aid of fact of missionaries) would desire to be eradicated. Nationalist movements have been additionally bobbing up right here and there, which promised worry. lots an identical may well be pronounced for the Asian colonies. The Caribbean islands had long outlived their usefulness. various worldwide places do no longer belong on your checklist. Canada and South Africa have been already self-governing Dominions, and the middle eastern protectorates have been continually meant to be non everlasting.

Answer 4

Just to add to this, but Britain never expected the colonies to be able to revolt and create an entirely new country; it had never been done before. The U.S., as mentioned before, fought very unconventionally using tactics similar to those of modern day guerrillas. Underestimation and some lucky breaks for the American army (Washington's famous night-crossing was known about ahead of time, but the British general refused to read the letter containing the information) were important factors, but those were just a few among many; and the above only cover the time between the declaration of indepence to the final retreat of the British army. Many books have been written on this very topic, most of which are quite lenghty.

Answer 5

Britain did not "allow" the colonies independance!!! Brave men risked their necks to sign The Declaration of Independece and It was a long hard struggle for the colonists!! Few had military training, but they were fighting for their homes, families, country and freedom to decide the course of their own lives and land. The frontiersmen had learned to fight as the Indians did! From tree to tree; ambush; fight and disperse; attack the long straight lines of bright red-coatted British! Benjamin Franklin's diplomacy brought the French in to aid in the revolution. Their navy blocked the British ships in many ports as well as helped deliver money and supplies to the revolutionaries! Spain joined against the British later, but did little to aid the rebels. The battles were up and down the East from Massachusets down through the Carolinas.

The British commander finally surrendered Oct. 19, 1781. The rebels had won the American Revolution against the powerful British! The new nation was born!

Answer 6

after the second world war Britain lost almost all of its wealth and was no longer able to keep control of such vast colonies.

Answer 7

Ok think of it this way.... think of the United States as a child. England's the momma that created these colonies and supported it. So the colonies mature and get into teenager mode... Since Europe is in an uproar, England isn't around to watch the colonies and smack them around if they are "bad". So the colonies rebel and start taking care of themselves because there is no one there.

So England comes back later and tries to act parental towards the colonies... but its too late. You can't neglect a teenager and let it do whatever it wants then one day decide to be strict and set boundaries.

Answer 8

We couldn't be bothered anymore

We had the whole of Canada anyway

The rabble of farmers the USA had was aided enormously by the french blockading ports and making suppies difficult and none of the wealth ie gold had been discovered yet.

The Americans also didn't fight proper battles like we expected them to and annoyed us no end with hit and run tactics

The British were against expansion beyond the 13 colonies incidentally so the USA would be very different today if we had decided to hold onto it although independence would have been granted around the same time as Canada

Answer 9

Between the Seven Years War debt and the international aspect of the fighting as a result of the alliances the Dutch, French, and Spanish formed with the colonies, it was simply not worth the effort.

Answer 10

They had more pressing problems more locally.
The colonies were 3,000 miles away ( in a striaght line which they could not sail).
They thought that "reason" ( you know "reason" that which says that Iraq wants a western style democracy?) would prevail.
By the time they decided to take action the overwhelming majority were against them, and they fielded too few troops.
So, "we" let it go.

Oh, and they had absolutely no concept of the "wealth" that America might hold. Rather it was a continuous (at that time) drain on resources.