British Colonists in America Defeat Britain

The colonists were able to defeat the greatest world power of their time because of the tension between Britain and the colonies, the idea of a revolution, and the help they got in the Revolutionary War.
After the French and Indian War, the British didn't treat the colonists as equals. Great Britain was in debt and needed money and they decided to tax the colonists. They first established the Sugar Act and Quartering Act. Colonists complained about these but they didn't really resist them. Then, the Stamp Act came along and the colonists reacted badly and boycotted English goods. The Townshend Acts were then established which led to protest and violence. The colonists had no representative in parliament and this upset them a lot too. Events such as the Boston Massacre, and the Boston Tea Party followed. Then, the colonist started getting ideas about being independent and breaking free from British rule. They then put their foot down wrote the Declaration of Independence.
The British and colonists then started fighting in the Revolutionary War. With the help of France and Spain. The war was ended with the Treaty of Paris in which Great Britain recognized the independence of the colonies.
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Mercantilism

Mercantilism is the theory that the more precious metals a country has, the wealthier and more powerful it is. In this theory, the country should try to gain as much precious metals as possible. If the country doesn't have a source or mines to get the bullion from, it would have to trade and have greater export and little import to have a favorable balance of trade. Mercantilists believed that nations should have colonies. Through these colonies it would gain wealth by buying raw materials and selling products. Colonies couldn't trade or engage in manufacturing with other countries, only the parent country. Only the parent country could engage in manufacturing, since it was a major source of profit. On top of that, colonial ships had to be used to transport the raw materials.
In the 1600's, mercantilism was England's economic relationship with its colonies. The English found out that they could sell the raw materials that they receive from their colonies. Also they had the colonies buy their manufactured goods. Since the English benefited so much economically from the colonies, they tried to establish as many colonies possible.