In 1764, there was a serious quarrel over taxation between the British government and its colonies in America. The British government continued to think of the colonists as British subjects. In 1700, there had been only 200.000 colonists, but by 1770 this number rose to 2.5 million. Obviously, such large numbers needed to be dealt with carefully. Some American colonists decided that it was not lawful for the British government to tax them without their agreement. Political opinion in Britain was divided. Some felt that the tax was fair because the money would be used to pay for the defence of the American colonies against French attack. But several important politicians agreed with the colonists that there should be “no taxation without representation”. Hence, in 1773, at the port of Boston, a group of colonists threw a shipload of tea into the sea rather than pay tax on it. The event became known as “the Boston Tea Party”. The British government responded by closing the port. But the colonists then decided to prevent British goods from entering America until the port was opened again. The colonists’ action was regarded as a rebellion, and the British government decided to defeat it by force. Thus, the American War of Independence got underway. The war lasted from 1775 until 1783. The British government had no respect for the colonists’ fighting ability. The result was a disastrous defeat for the British forces. At the end of the war, Britain lost all the American colonies except Canada.