Causes of the Revolutionary War The haphazard and disorganized British rule of the American colonies in the decade prior to the outbreak led to the Revolutionary War. The mismanagementof the colonies, the taxation policies that violated the colonist right's, thedistractions of foreign wars and politics in England and mercantilist policies thatbenefited the English to a much greater degree then the colonists all show theBritish incompetence in their rule over the colonies. These policies anddistractions were some of the causes of the Revolutionary War. The interests of England within the colonies were self-centered. The Englishwere exploiting were trying to govern the colonies by using the mercantilistsystem. Mercantilism is when the state directs all the economic activities withinit's borders(Blum 31). England was not attempting to make any changes thatwould help the colonists. They limited the colonies commerce to internal tradeonly(Miller 9). The English were exploiting the colonies by demanding that thecolonies import more from England then they exported to the colonies. Theywere importing raw materials from the colonies and making them into exportablegoods in England. They would then ship these goods to foreign markets allaround the world including the colonies(America Online ). Throughout theseventeenth century the English saw America as a place to get materials theydidn't have at home and a market to sell finished products at after the goods hadbeen manufactured. This was detrimental to the colonies because it preventedthem from manufacturing any of the raw materials they produced and made themmore dependent upon England. In addition to the unrest caused by their mercantilist policies, domestic politicalissues distracted them from the activities of the colonies. Throughout the sixteenhundreds, Great Britain was more involved in solving the Constitutional issue ofwho was to have more power in English government, the king or parl...
