Impressed by the apparent prosperity of the free colonists, British concluded that they could pay higher taxes to support the empire that benefited them so greatly. This seemed only fair to the British, who had spent so much blood and treasure making the continent safe for the prospering colonists. After all, British taxpayers were already paying far heavier taxes than were the colonists: in 1763 imperial taxation averaged twenty-six shillings per person in Britain, where most subjects were struggling, compared with only one shilling per person in the colonies, where most free people were
...more
