KPDS 2009-1 Soru=78

It is stated in the passage that, within a period of almost three quarters of a century, ----.

In 1764, there was a serious quarrel over taxation
between the British government and its colonies in
America. The British government continued to think
of the colonists as British subjects. In 1700, there had
been only 200.000 colonists, but by 1770 this number
rose to 2.5 million. Obviously, such large numbers
needed to be dealt with carefully. Some American
colonists decided that it was not lawful for the British
government to tax them without their agreement.
Political opinion in Britain was divided. Some felt that
the tax was fair because the money would be used to
pay for the defence of the American colonies against
French attack. But several important politicians
agreed with the colonists that there should be “no
taxation without representation”. Hence, in 1773, at
the port of Boston, a group of colonists threw a
shipload of tea into the sea rather than pay tax on it.
The event became known as “the Boston Tea Party”.
The British government responded by closing the
port. But the colonists then decided to prevent British
goods from entering America until the port was
opened again. The colonists' action was regarded as
a rebellion, and the British government decided to
defeat it by force. Thus, the American War of
Independence got underway. The war lasted from
1775 until 1783. The British government had no
respect for the colonists' fighting ability. The result
was a disastrous defeat for the British forces. At the
end of the war, Britain lost all the American colonies
except Canada.