The English army. In the eighteenth century, it was probably the most powerful force in the world. Imagine columns and columns of men in red jackets marching in unison, rifles trained on the soldiers, ready to destroy any opposition. This army and the government that controlled it had extreme influence on the relatively young American nation and it is easy to see why. In fact, he had power over the colonies and could do what he wanted. He could tax the people under his rule, occupy the cities he wanted, and take charge of the citizens of those cities. The Americans had many grievances against the British because of their power over them, some of which they expressed in open battle, others which they complained to each other in secret. Taxation without representation; this was just one of many, many grievances inflicted on the American colonists, and which the colonists would eventually fight against with the mass dumping of tea in the Boston Tea Party. In short, it meant that colonists had to pay taxes on all of their mother's imports ...