Big Picture

Questions

1. Were the American colonists represented in British Parliament?
2. How did American colonists benefit materially by being a part of the British Empire?
3. What interests motivated France to ally with the Americans in the war?
4. Approximately how many African and African-American slaves resided in America at the time of the Revolution?

Answers

1. No. The colonists were not represented in British Parliament, yet the Parliament imposed a number of taxes on the colonies despite the fundamental principle of British political ideology that said that persons could only be taxed by legislative bodies in which they were represented.
2. British ships, traveling from British possessions throughout the world, carried a wealth of affordable and life-enhancing consumer goods to the colonists.
3. The France that became involved was the France of Louis XVI, and it was motivated not by any sympathy with America’s new world ideals, but rather old world balance of power politics and an even more anachronistic motivation—revenge.
4. Some 500,000.