No Taxation without Representation

Consolidating the Empire

• British government largely left colonies to their own devices before 1763

  • Salutary neglect

• Navigation Acts sought to regulate colonial trade

  • Government did little when colonists violated these laws

• Government wanted to consolidate power over it enlarged empire after the French & Indian War

  • Wanted more efficiency

• Raised taxes for England to pay for the war, which later spread to the colonies

The Representation Issue

• Most in Britain thought Parliament = the entire empire and had a right to legislate for it

  • Virtual Representation: Each member represented the entire empire, no just his own district