Once upon a time there was a struggling Nation. Actually, nationhood was a pretty new idea; warring tribes and foreign immigrants and refugees looking for some land to call their own had been the norm; but eventually, everybody got settled in and the idea that the land should become a Nation got passed 'round; after all, everyone was doing it!

Mostly what got the whole Nation-building idea rolling was the Great Empire. The Great Empire was lead by a fella named George. George and his well-heeled advisors decided that the people of the struggling Nation had resources that the Great Empire needed "to preserve our way of life" - and since the struggling Nation was primitive, backward, and not even really organised INTO a proper Nation yet, George and his advisors figured getting those resources would be a cinch. George moved his soldiers in to 'keep the peace', he set up a puppet dictatorship to 'provide good governance', and he sat back and waited for the tribute to roll in. After all, the military and economic might of the Great Empire was known and feared all over the WORLD.

The people of the struggling Nation didn't like it. Not one bit. Farmers, craftsmen, respectable community leaders and even clergymen all agreed that this turn of events was manifestly unfair, but they knew the Great Empire had them outmanned and outgunned. "This is a Crisis" the leaders of the Nation-building movement told the people of the struggling Nation, "We cannot defeat the armies and the might of the Great Empire, to even attempt it would be suicide. Therefore, we will try to make the Leaders of the Great Empire change their minds, peaceably if we can, forcibly if we must. If it comes to that, we will try to make it so expensive for the Great Empire to continue their injustice that they will have to go someplace else for what they need and leave us alone."

And they did.

They destroyed official buildings and property belonging to the Great Empire. They killed officers and soldiers of the Great Empire. Sometimes, even ordinary citizens of the Great Empire were killed! They planned these attacks to have the maximum shock effect on the leaders and people of the Great Empire, with minimal risk to their own people; because, unlike the Great Empire, the people of the struggling Nation did not have many soldiers to spare. There were brutal reprisals by the Great Empire for these attacks. The people of the struggling Nation endured these reprisals, because they knew GOD was on THEIR side.

Eventually, the war the Great Empire was making on the struggling Nation became so expensive that the resources extracted from the struggling Nation were no longer enough to defray the cost. George's well-heeled advisors were unhappy, their fortunes were suffering; finally, they persuaded George to sign a treaty with the struggling Nation. Later, the struggling Nation, now a true Nation at last, became an ally and trading partner of the Great Empire, much to the benefit of both peoples.

---Don't ya just LOVE historical paralells?

BTW: the struggling Nation was America, 226-odd years ago.
and the Great Empire was Great Britain, 226-odd years ago.