In 1750 the population of the English colonies in North America was approximately 1,750,000; the population of England and Wales was some 6,140,000.93 As the rate of growth in the colonies was much higher than in the mother country, it was only a matter of time when the offspring would rebel against the parent. Montesquieu had predicted this in 1730, even to specifying that the break would be caused by British restrictions on American trade.
