But the British Laws were used like a 'one-way street' - the Acts of Parliament benefited the British but not the colonies and, to compound this, the Americans were not afforded the same rights as the British people, nor did they have any representatives in the British Parliament to present their points of view. The colonists protested and their protests led them down the American Road to Revolution and were responsible for some of the Causes of the American Revolutionary War.

Facts about Causes of the American Revolutionary War
The following facts detail the Causes of the American Revolutionary War.

Cause 1: Trade - Mercantilism: The British had adopted the policy of Mercantilism. The mercantile system, was based on the benefits of profitable trading in which the flow of raw materials from the colonies that profited Great Britain who turned them into finished goods which had a higher value than raw materials.

Cause 2: Trade: The Triangular Trade routes were established. Americans had to trade goods that they had in abundance in exchange for goods which were scarce in their own region. Triangular Trade, coupled with the British policy of Mercantilism, provided a “favorable balance of trade” but only to Great Britain. This ensured that gold and silver, and all domestic money, stayed in England.

Cause 3: Laws: The Navigation Acts were designed to regulate colonial trade. The Purpose of the Navigation Acts was to encourage British shipping and allow Great Britain to retain the monopoly of British colonial trade for the benefit of British merchants.

Cause 4: Laws: The 1689 English Bill of Rights was passed which put into place a constitutional form of government in which the rights and liberties of the individual were protected under English law. The Americans argued that they were not afforded the same rights.

Cause 5: Policy: In 1696 it suited the British to a adopt policy of Salutary neglect avoiding the strict enforcement of parliamentary laws in Colonial America which gave the colonies considerable freedom in economic matters. Between 1763-1775 the British tried to reverse their policy of Salutary Neglect in order to pay for war debts, tighten their control in the colonies, enforce the Navigation Acts and other laws and impose new taxes on goods

Cause 6: The British Parliament passed the Wool Act in 1699 which prohibited the export of American made cloth from its colony of origin.

Cause 7: In 1732 Parliament passed the Hat Act preventing the trade of American-made hats.

Cause 8: In 1732 Parliament also passed the Debt Recovery Act that decreed that land and slaves were the equivalent of property and should be sold to satisfy debts owed by colonists to British merchants.

Cause 9: The Navigation Act of 1733, also known as the Molasses Act, levied heavy taxes on sugar

Cause 10:
The Iron Act was passed in 1750 to suppress the manufacture of iron finished goods in the colonies and to increase the production of iron and its export to Great Britain

Cause 11: The French Indian War in North America ended February 10, 1763 leaving the British with a massive war debt. The British looked to raise revenue by imposing new taxes in the colonies and reversing its policy of Salutary Neglect.

Cause 12: On October 7, 1763 The British impose the Proclamation of 1763 that introduced a massive boundary to separate white settlements from Indian country - The Americans believed the British were siding with the Native Indians against the colonists

Cause 13: In 1764 the British passed the Sugar Act setting a tax on sugar and molasses imported into the colonies that impacting the manufacture of rum in New England

Cause 14: In August 1764 the Boston Boycotts were imposed by the merchants, and the women of Boston, refusing to buy British finished goods especially clothing such as satins, lace and ruffles

Cause 15: On September 1 1764 the Currency Act was passed regulating paper money issued by the colonies

Cause 16: March 22, 1765 the Stamp Act of 1765 was passed in which Taxes imposed on legal papers, newspapers and pamphlets. Violent opposition and the Reaction to the Stamp Act resulted in the British repealing the act in 1766

Cause 17: In March 24, 1765 Quartering Act of 1765 was passed - it was the first of a series of Laws requiring the provision of housing, food and drink to British troops in the American colonies

Cause 18: The Sons of Liberty a secret, underground organization was founded in Boston by Samuel Adams and John Hancock in July 1765 in opposition to the Stamp Act.

Cause 19: In May 1765 Patrick Henry was elected as a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses. He led the protests against the hated British laws and taxes in the House of Burgesses.

Cause 20: October 1765 saw the Stamp Act Congress and the Declaration of the Rights and Grievances of the Colonists

Cause 21: In March 1766 the British took action against the Americans by passing the Declaratory Act that asserted the British right to make laws binding on the colonies

Cause 22: The Repeal of the Stamp Act is approved by the House of Commons in February 1766 following the actions, including boycotts, by the colonists

Cause 23: On June 29 1767 a series of laws called the Townshend Acts placed taxes on items imported by the colonists including glass, lead, paints, paper and tea

Cause 24: On August 1768 merchants in Boston and New York retaliate by boycotting British goods until the Townshend Acts are repealed

Cause 25: On October 1 1768 British warships sail into Boston Harbor leaving two regiments of English troops to keep order

Cause 26: In 1769, George Washington, set on protesting the British policy of "taxation without representation," brought a package of Nonimportation resolutions before the Virginia House of Burgesses.

Cause 27: On March 5 1770 the incident known as the Boston Massacre took place in which 5 civilians were killed by British soldiers

Cause 28: On June 9 1772 The HMS Gaspee runs aground and is looted by colonists

Cause 29: In November 1772: Samuel Adams organizes the first Committee of Correspondence providing leadership and communication networks amongst the colonists

Cause 30: On May 10 1773 the Tea Act is passed allowing the British East India Company to sell its low-cost tea directly to the colonies, undermining colonial tea merchants

Cause 31: On December 16, 1773 Massachusetts patriots dressed as Mohawk Indians protested against the British Tea Act and an incident which would become known as the Boston Tea Party

Cause 32: The British pass a series of laws, that became known as the Intolerable Acts, that were a reprisal to the Boston Tea party rebellion. The five laws aimed at punishing Massachusetts for the action taken in Boston and to restore British authority in the American colonies.

Cause 33: The names of the Intolerable Acts were the:
Boston Port Act
Massachusetts Government Act
Administration of Justice Act
Quartering Act
Quebec Act

Cause 34: Between September 5 - October 26 1774 the First Continental Congress met in which elected representatives of colonists assembled in revolt against British rule.

Cause 35: The Continental Association was created by the Continental Congress in 1774 in response to the 'Intolerable Acts' and to impose economic sanctions against Great Britain. The Articles of Association were were adopted on October 20, 1774.

Cause 36: On March 23, 1775 Patrick Henry delivered his famous "Give me liberty or give me death!" speech referring to the "warlike preparations" of the British and making an urgent call to arms saying "The war is inevitable - and let it come!"

Cause 37: On Wednesday, April 19, 1775 the Battle of Lexington and the Battle of Concord started the American Revolution and the "shot heard round the world."

Cause 38: On July 6 1775 the Declaration on the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms was issued by Congress stating that Americans are "resolved to die free men rather than live as slaves."