The nascent British Empire followed a mercantilist economic policy, in which the goal was to enrich Britain, especially its already powerful bourgeoisie that exercised power since the Glorious Revolution. This policy was viewed with suspicion by the settlers because it directly harmed them by considering the colonies as mere producers of raw materials and markets for the productions of the metropolis.
The first reaction of American producers and merchants was smuggling, which became the most widespread tactic to avoid restrictions on trade with the French, Spanish or Dutch. Mercantilism aimed to achieve trade surpluses, so that gold and silver would concentrate in London, the colonies, on the other hand, were captive markets for British industry. The government participated through the rights and taxes, and the rest went to the English merchants. The category of public administration that benefited most was the military, especially the British Navy.
The Thirteen British colonies in North America had enjoyed some autonomy, being less productive than the Caribbean islands. Each of these colonies developed its own system of government, based largely on independent farmers who owned their own land, voted in favor of their local and provincial government.
As Britain reorganized its new empire, the settlers resented the control now imposed on them, which, they perceived, violated their rights and freedoms. In some colonies, especially Virginia, the Carolinas and Georgia, there were important African slave populations. After a series of tax protests in the 1760s and 1770s, these colonies united politically and militarily in opposition to the British government fought in the American Revolutionary War, from 1775 to 1783. For all of the above it is that for the colonists it was very important to maintain your freedom.
