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MAINS 2013
GS1
10 marks

American Revolution was an economic revolt against mercantilism. Substantiate.

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200 words
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What the examiner wants

Substantiate that the American Revolution was a revolt against British mercantilism, noting other causes.

SubstantiateBack the statement with facts, data and examples.

Demand-wise check

  1. 1Mercantilist controls: Navigation Acts, enumerated goods, ban on colonial manufactures≈35 words
  2. 2Taxation after Seven Years' War: Sugar Act 1764, Stamp Act 1765, Townshend Acts 1767, Tea Act 1773 → Boston Tea Party≈35 words
  3. 3Economic interests: merchants, planters in debt, Proclamation Line of 1763 blocking westward land≈35 words
  4. 4Beyond economics: 'no taxation without representation', Locke, Paine's Common Sense≈35 words

Open in about 30 words and close in about 30.

Answer plan

Define mercantilismSpecific ActsEconomic grievancesPolitical-ideological causesConclusion that economics was core but not sole

Where marks usually go

  • Not defining mercantilism
  • Ignoring the ideological causes and giving a one-sided answer

Draw this

  • Flowchart: Seven Years' War debt → new taxes → protests → Declaration 1776

Value addition

  • ThinkerAdam Smith's Wealth of Nations (1776) attacked the colonial mercantile monopoly as harmful to Britain itself.Adam Smith, 1776
  • FactThe Tea Act 1773 gave the East India Company a monopoly on colonial tea, sparking the Boston Tea Party.Tea Act, 1773

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