How A Law About Hats Contributed to the American Revolution
Patrick O’Shaughnessy asks whether the imposition of the Hat Act caused the American Revolution?
Trade between Great Britain and America is currently an important political and economic issue. When Donald Trump visited the UK back in June 2019, preliminary discussions about a potential ‘Post-Brexit’ trade deal between the two nations was headline news. More recently still, the British Government announced in July 2020 that British mobile network operators would have to remove any components manufactured by the Chinese company Huawei, a move that some suggested was due to diplomatic pressure leveraged by the previous Trump administration. However, looking back in history, trade between Britain and America has always been very important. Patriot opposition to British taxes levied on the tea trade, for instance, contributed to the outbreak of the Boston Tea Party in 1773; American Patriots threw the taxable tea into Boston Harbour in defiance. Moving forward one hundred and thirty eight years and by 1914, Britain had more money invested in the USA than it did in both Australia and Canada – two of its Dominions – combined. It may well come as something of a surprise to learn that the trade in hats between Britain and America was particularly important in the 18th century. So, did hats really contribute to the outbreak of the American Revolution? Well, just maybe. Here’s how:
