I’m not sure but I think it’s the second one
England was the dominant commercial power in the Atlantic ocean in the mid-1700s. During this period, the English society contained a flourishing and more broad middling sector than any other western country. This provided a sturdy opportunity for commerce with, and settlement in, far-flung territories.
The thirteen American<span> colonies declared their independence from Britain in 1776.</span>
strained the economic system, and the Weimar Republic printed money as the mark's value tumbled