Conflict in the Colonies It was probably inevitable that once Britain's colonial "children" matured, they would seek independence from their mother country. After all, the colonists and the British had conflicting interests in America. Most colonists came to America in search of greater personal freedom and opportunity. But Britain saw America as something to be exploited and controlled. So while the colonists wanted to be free from controls, Britain intended to do just the opposite. During the first hundred years of colonial development in America, England's domestic problems and foreign wars diverted its attention from colonial affairs. But following Britain's defeat of her arch-rival, France, in 1763, Britain decided to begin stricter management of her colonies. Britain decided to enforce its mercantile policy by cracking down on colonists who had been illegally trading with countries other than Britain. Britain also decided to establish control over lands west of the Appalachians which the French had surrendered to Britain following the French and Indian War (17541763). To accomplish this, Britain declared the Proclamation of 1763 which closed lands west of the Appalachians to colonial settlement. Finally, and more fatefully, Britain decided to tax the colonists in order to pay part of the expenses of protecting the colonies from Indians or other potential enemies. The colonies deeply resented Britain's new controls. They complained that mercantile laws hurt their businesses. Colonists wanted to be able to trade as freely as any businessman in Britain. Colonists also complained that the Proclamation of 1763 violated their colonial charters which promised western lands to them. But it was Britain's taxation of the colonists that produced the loudest outcry. Parliament's taxes, the colonists claimed, were illegal because they were levied without the consent of the colonists or their representatives. This "taxation without representation," they claimed was a violation of their rights as Englishmen. Many colonists began to protest against the new British policies. Led by people such as Samuel Adams of Boston, many colonists harassed tax collectors and boycotted British goods. Although this political action caused Parliament to repeal most of its taxes, it maintained a small tax on tea. Small tax or not, the tea tax was still taxation without representation. Angry colonists, now called Patriots, staged new protests. One of these was the Boston Tea Party. The Boston Tea Party marked a turning point in British-colonial relations. Angry about the destruction of tea and other property, Parliament decided to abandon conciliation and take punitive action. The British closed Boston harbor and limited the power of the Massachusetts assembly. Anxious to assist the beleaguered Bostonians, Patriot organizations in 12 of the colonies sent representatives to the First Continental Congress. Congress asked colonists to send aid to Boston and join in a massive boycott of British goods. It also urged Patriots to pressure other colonists into supporting the boycott. In Massachusetts, Patriot organizations began to organize and train volunteer soldiers called minutemen. Determined to crush this military buildup, the British decided to march on Concord and seize Patriot munitions there. While on their way to Concord, the British met a band of minutemen at Lexington. Shots rang out. The Revolutionary War had begun.