King George III was the ruler of Great Britain during the American Revolution, which lasted from 1775 to 1783. Many laws and ordinances were passed for the colonies, which were ruled across the Atlantic Ocean. Before the reign of King George III, few policies and laws were strictly enforced in the American Colonies. A concept called salutary neglect. When he obtained the power of the throne, he passed and enforced many restrictions on the Colonies. Although King George III could be considered non-tyrannical because some laws passed in the Colonies already existed in England, he ultimately was a tyrant due to his many restrictive laws, imposition of taxes, and military oppression. King George may not have been as tyrannical as the colonists …show more content…
Despite how poorly the colonists responded to the Stamp Tax, it was already being used in England. The implementation of this tax was necessary from King George III’s perspective, as funds were needed to be raised for the costly wars occurring in England. Many people even considered this a small tax, and when the American Colonies asked the King to repeal the act, he eventually complied. However, this poorly supports King George III's being non-tyrannical because soon after the Stamp Act was repealed, many more restrictions were put in place, such as the Declaratory Act and the Townshend Acts. Many of the laws that King George III passed on the colonies were exclusive to them and were seen as oppressive and overly restrictive. An example of this was the Declaratory Act, passed directly after the Stamp Act was repealed. Parliament’s increased taxation in the New World was equal to that of England, which many emigrated to avoid. The New World was a land of promised self-governance and colonial autonomy; however, England’s rule became oppressive after the implementation of strict …show more content…
The Sugar Act was one such tax that raised the duties and taxes on foreign sugar from the West Indies, and the colonists protested in response to its enactment. Another was Townshend’s Revenue Act, which raised money for England on products such as tea, glass, and paper. Both of these Acts were implemented to help pay for the debt of the French and Indian War and other conflicts that Great Britain was involved in, taxing the American Colonies on nearly everything. Some taxes were loosely enforced before King George III’s rule, but the sudden abolition of salutary neglect was seen as oppressive. It is important to note that taxes are not inherently bad or indicative of tyranny, but because the colonies were separated from England geographically, it did not seem fair for the King to tax the Colonies in the same manner as in England. Another tyrannical act of King George III was his oppression of the colonists by means of the British military. The Writs of Assistance gave the British navy the right to search ships for any reason. Despite the origin of the Writs of Assistance aiming to combat smuggling issues within the Colonies, the colonists were angered by England’s capability to search their ships for any