Why did the colonists want independence from Britain?
No taxation without representation. Since the Brits would not give them a voice, they would be their own nation
Why did the colonists no longer feel dependent on Great Britain after the French and Indian War?
because the French were gone from North America and the threat of French armies occupying Western Pennsylvania ( today's Pittsburgh ) or northern New York ( Lake Champlain ) was removed...... More importantly the French were no longer there to give support to their Indian allies ( remember this was the French AND Indian War ) . The fight with the Indians had gone on from, well, lets say 1645.......a hundred and twenty years!.....and a mean and vicious fight it was with atrocities on both sides......and the colonies, essentially a thin strip along the Atlantic seaboard....were hemmed in by several million not very happy Native Americans.. once France was gone, the Indian tribes lost their access to modern weaponry and the defeat of the NAs...even though it took another 120 years of vicious fighting with atrocities on both sides...was inevitable. So with he French gone and the Indians cut off from support, the feeling in the colonies was one of great relief.....for the first time since Jamestown and Plymouth, the English Americans weren't going to be driven into the sea, and could get on with living their own life . "Thanks for all your help guys! We'll see you around. Hold on! You want us to pay for this war by TAXING stamps and paper and tea? We'll see about THAT! "
How did the American colonies depend on England?
The English were exploiting the colonies by importing raw materials from the colonies and making them into exportable goods in England. They would then ship these goods to foreign markets all around the world including the colonies. Throughout the seventeenth century the English saw America as a place to get materials they didn't have at home and a market to sell finished products at after the goods had been manufactured. This was detrimental to the colonies because it prevented them from manufacturing any of the raw materials they produced and made them more dependent upon England.
Why did the British colonies and dependent territories not use the pound currency but instead had their own currencies?
When Britain/UK first started having authentic colonies overseas in the 16th and 17th centuries, the reigning global currency was still the Spanish piece of eight (i.e. the Spanish dollar, equivalent to eight reales).For the ease of trade, the UK by public and foreign policies let the colonies settle on their own forms of currency to articulate with the Spanish dollar.Over the fullness of time, the Spanish currency became decimalised. Similarly then, the colonial currencies also followed suit.It was also a point of economic reality and policy on the UK part. It wanted to keep the actual British currency of pounds, shillings and pennies within its own shores rather than spread out all over the place.A spread-out currency is a point of potential economic disruption, as could be seen in the historical accounts of Spanish economics.To that end, the UK informally minted a variety of British trade dollars at various times for use in places where the Spanish dollar was popular. It’s a matter of straight forex economics.Later, the minting of the British trade dollar was formalised from 1895 for exclusive Far East use, especially for the Straits Settlements (i.e. Singapore) and Hong Kong — as a direct result of the founding of Singapore (1819) and Hong Kong (1841–42). The UK’s aim was to remove the British colony from relying heavily on various foreign currency for international trade. The last of the British trade dollars were minted in 1935.
How important was India as a colony in the British Empire?
During 1612–1757, the East India Company set up "factories" in several locations, mostly in coastal India, with the consent of the Moghul emperors or local rulers. Its rivals were the merchant trading companies of Holland and France. By the mid-18th century, three "Presidency towns": Madras, Bombay, and Calcutta had grown in size.The English were enjoying success in India, at Surat, after the establishment of a factory in 1613.In 1757 Mir Jafar, the commander in chief of the army of the Nawab of Bengal, along with Jagat Seth, Maharaja Krishna Nath, Umi Chand and some others, secretly connived with the British, asking support to overthrow the Nawab in return for trade grants. The British forces, whose sole duty until then was guarding Company property, were numerically inferior to the Bengali armed forces. At the Battle of Plassey on 23 June 1757, fought between the British under the command of Robert Clive and the Nawab, Mir Jafar's forces betrayed the Nawab and helped defeat him. Jafar was installed on the throne as a British subservient ruler. The battle transformed British perspective as they realized their strength and potential to conquer smaller Indian kingdoms and marked the beginning of the imperial or colonial era in the subcontinent.Mainly 3 things were most important for the Britishers:Resources, Labour & Armed Forces.1) India had lost most of it's resources to most of the Mughal Rulers who ruled & looted India For almost 3 centuries. But still it had enough to increase its economic growth & stabilize itself.All these resources were readily available to the Britishers.2) Labour was easily available as people in India were eager to earn money to support their livelihood. Large population made it much more easier to attract people towards working opportunities.3) Indian army soldiers were constantly supporting & fighting with the British forces for many battles including the World war II. As Lord Curzon said: "As long as we rule India, we are the greatest power in the world. If we lose it, we shall drop straight away to a third-rate Power!"
Is Australia a British colony or an overseas territory?
Parts of Australia were originally British Colonies, but Australia has been an Independent country since 1901.Q: Is Australia a British colony or an overseas territory?Australia became an independent nation on 1 January 1901 when the British Parliament passed legislation allowing the six Australian colonies to govern in their own right as part of the Commonwealth of Australia.Federation | australia.gov.auThe term British Overseas Territory was introduced in 2002 and replaced the term British Dependent Territory which was effective from 1981. Before 1981, the territories were known as Crown colonies.The Australian territories ceased to be colonies in 1901, and were therefore never Overseas Territories.