Cobblestone streets in Beacon Hill area of Boston. : 無料・フリー素材/写真
Cobblestone streets in Beacon Hill area of Boston. / denisbin
| ライセンス | クリエイティブ・コモンズ 表示-改変禁止 2.1 |
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| 説明 | Boston. This beautiful historic city was a hotbed of rebellion and the main centre for the start of the American War of Independence. Today it is the capital and major city of Massachusetts with a metropolitan area of 4.5 million people. Like most tourists we will walk the ‘Freedom Trail’- the historic sites related to the origins of the Revolution but we need a little more knowledge of the Revolution itself. When War in 1775 (declared 1776) broke out Boston was the third city of the colonies and a major centre for discontent partly because it was a major port and the city had many articulate men with legal backgrounds involved in politics. The early 20th century view was that the American Revolution was about trade and the British system of mercantilism whereby England taxed and controlled the trade of the colonies. This view is now tempered with the knowledge that commitment to ‘democracy’ and self government was already strong in the colonies. For over 100 years the colonies were largely ignored by England and the powers of the Governors were reduced by the colonial assemblies. Every colony had an assembly that advised and exerted strong influence over their Governor. Usually there was a property qualification for voting, but in the American colonies most adult men owned some property and so the franchise was very wide for the 1700s. But why did it all change and become confrontational? England fought a long and costly war with France to determine superiority in North America. France, you will remember controlled what is now Canada. The Seven Years War 1756-63 was the last of almost a century of war between the Indians, the French and the British over territory. In the Treaty of Paris 1763 England got Quebec and the rest of Canada. To pay for the War, the British parliament decided that the Americans were receiving benefits from the war so they should be taxed to pay for the war. The famous Stamp Act of 1765 was the first internal tax in the American colonies. The colonies developed the framework to conduct a war of resistance from this tax. They developed their slogan- “no taxation without representation”; their leaders emerged; a newspaper and pamphlet war began; they developed a trade boycott of British goods which worked; and for the first time representatives of all the colonies met to discuss their grievances. At this time, the colonists accepted that England could tax their trade - external taxes - but they refused to admit that England could tax them internally, without the consent of their colonial assemblies and the American people. Despite their slogan the colonists did not want representation in Westminster in London; they wanted their own colonial assemblies to be in charge. England repealed the Stamp Act because of the trade boycott but it responded with further acts. The Americans took umbrage at every act. One of the worst incidents was the Boston Massacre in 1770 when British Redcoats opened fire on a crowd of hecklers, killing 5, and wounding 8. Paul Revere, a Boston radical, made an engraving of the Massacre which is depicted to the left. Later a tax on tea precipitated the infamous Boston Tea Party in 1773. The first battles between Redcoats and American rebels began outside Boston in 1775 at Lexington and Concord. Thus it was not surprising that representatives of the all the colonies met that year in Philadelphia to consider their options and finally to declare Independence from England on 4th July 1776. So Boston was a major revolutionary city. The rebels of Boston were led by Samuel Adams, Paul Revere and others. The Revolution became as much about political rights and the independence of colonial assemblies as trade and taxation. Some historians argue that there was growing class conflict and dissatisfaction in the colonies as well and that that played into the mix creating a fertile bed for revolution. Certainly economic depression in colonial trade across the Atlantic in the 1770s was a major factor in the Americans feeling so disgruntled and aggrieved and settlers in the western parts of all colonies felt very aggrieved with the luxuries and relative flamboyance of the east coast cities like Boston. Consequently, the Revolutionary leaders had no trouble in gathering supporters, and finally amassing troops to fight a long, bloody and costly war against the British. Against all odds the Americans won, but they had considerable financial help from France which was still smarting from losing Canada and Quebec in the Seven Years War. We already have seen how a fine general emerged, George Washington, and he had great help from Baron Von Stueben who was paid for by France to train and organise the American troops. The British Redcoats were very slow to adapt to guerrilla warfare and the Americans turned out to be an awesome foe. |
| 撮影日 | 2012-10-13 02:44:31 |
| 撮影者 | denisbin |
| タグ | |
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| カメラ | DSC-S950 , SONY |
| 露出 | 0.033 sec (1/30) |
| 開放F値 | f/4.2 |