Since the 17th century, the British followed in the footsteps of Spain and began to establish their own colonies on the North American continent. By 1733, they had established a total of 13 colonies here. The people of these colonies were mostly immigrants from England. Except for a few landlords and nobles and privileged merchants, most of them are lower-class working people. Some of them come here to escape political persecution or natural and man-made disasters in their own countries, while others are to pursue freedom of belief and a better life. Many people came to this virgin land with a gold rush dream.
In order to rule and manage the North American colonies, the United Kingdom established a set of ruling institutions. On the one hand, they established a trade bureau to manage the colonies within the British government, and on the other hand, they sent governors and officials to the colonies. They hoped that they would be able to firmly control their interests in the colony. However, in the long process of development and evolution, democratic elements have gradually grown in the social structure of the North American colonies. More freedom and rights for the people, while gradually weakening the basis of the British colonial rulers' rule, laid the groundwork for the subsequent outbreak of the American Revolutionary War.
The British rulers operated large colonies in North America, and their purpose was to turn the colonies into objects of their extraction and plunder, so they took a series of measures to ensure the economic interests of the United Kingdom, so that for the people of the colonies, despite the same White Europeans, but there will inevitably be confrontations in economic interests. Parliaments were formed in each colony, and the system was constantly improved to fight against the British colonial authorities.
The Anglo-French War (also known as the "Seven Years' War") that began in 1756 was an important war between Britain and France for world hegemony. At that time, Britain and France had become the most powerful countries in Western Europe at that time, fighting for colonies in India and America. interests, there must be a fight between them. As the people of the British colonies, the British rulers promised to make them a tool for the expansion of the British colonies and joined the war. After the "Seven Years' War", France suffered heavy losses, and Britain became the world's largest colonial power. The protagonist of "Patriot" Benjamin Martin was an ordinary farmer in the British colony in the early days, and he helped the French in the Anglo-French war and became a "hero".
However, after the Anglo-French War ended in 1763, the United Kingdom began to free up its hands to strictly enforce a series of laws restricting the colonial economy that had not been implemented in the colonies for a long time in the past, and focused on the inspection of smuggling. The characteristic foreign trade of North America plummeted, the once prosperous ports suddenly fell into the cold, and a large number of sailors lost their jobs. Colonial people began to have a stronger dissatisfaction with the British rulers, and at the same time, they were very indignant about the retention of the tea tax in the United Kingdom. In 1770, the "no tea" movement broke out to protest. In 1733, in order to save the "East India Company" that was on the verge of collapse, the United Kingdom shipped a large amount of tea to North America for dumping, which seriously affected the interests of the people in the colonies. The conflict between the two intensified.
In 1774, 55 representatives of 12 colonies held the first "Continental Congress" in Philadelphia. At the meeting, they fought fiercely over the relationship between North America and Britain. The resolution of the conference required the British authorities to cancel some unreasonable laws. but was rejected. After that, the British colonial rulers began sporadic force suppression, and the people of the colonies also began to organize their own armed teams to confront them.
In 1776, a magazine editor named Sipin wrote a pamphlet "Common Sense", which played an important role in the ideological preparation for the struggle of the American people. In this book, he completely destroyed the British king in the hearts of the colonial people. The divine and graceful image made him a tyrannical single man, thus severing the last remaining emotional bond to the British King and Britain in the hearts of the colonial people. It raised the consciousness of the people and pushed them towards independence, which gradually became a common cry. Under the general aspiration of the people, the Continental Congress adopted the famous "Declaration of Independence" on July 4, 1776, which also became the American Independence Day later.
The birth of the "Declaration of Independence" also made all the people have the determination to win the battle and threw themselves into the great war of independence. After countless bloodshed, the war finally ended with the victory of the American people. Paris signed the agreement, Britain recognized the independence of the United States. The film "Patriot" reflects the story of the patriots who pursued freedom and independence during this period and devoted themselves to this great war.
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