‘Rules by Which a Great Empire May Be Reduced to a Small One,’ written by Benjamin Franklin in September 1773, was written in response to the colonies’ concerns about how Britain was ruling them (Franklin, 2015). His position as a spokesman of many American colonies in London was at the moment of writing of this letter. He decided to publish the piece in the National Advertiser, a weekly newspaper in London. People in both England and the US would eventually read the article. Franklin equates a collapsing economy to the collapsing cake and utilizes numbered elements to highlight the concerns colonies have with the kingdom that dominates more aspects of their lives. The colonists hated having government personnel imposed upon them. They would like to be governed by people they choose for themselves.
Nevertheless, officials are devoted to the monarchy or their purposes and care nothing for improving life in the colonies. The British government and the persons it appointed to administer the colonists were interested in harvesting as much revenue as possible from the colonies. Moreover, they discover new ways to tax the colonies. They frequently seek to avoid settling for bills that may lessen some of the load placed on the colonists. Even the taxes that are collected and supposed to be utilized to improve the colonists are somehow redirected to the advantage of the empire. In response to the Quartering Act of 1765, the settlers were compelled to pay for the housing and nourishment of the soldiers dispatched from Britain (Franklin, 2015). After providing lodgings for these soldiers, they discover that the troops do not help deliver protection to the settlement.
Moreover, the troops and bureaucrats devoted to the empire might be a source of friction between them and the colonists. A lot of the time, the colonists are forced to protect their settlements and seaports. Some colonists fund and construct their fortifications, only to have officials from the empire seize control of the fortifications and confiscate the riches contained within them. Thomas Gage (c. 1718–87) is the administrator of Newfoundland who was appointed by the British to succeed Thomas Hutchinson (1711–80) as governor (Franklin, 2015). Gage confiscates munitions gathered by the colonists and seizes control of a fort they had constructed so that the British may use them against the colonists in the future.
Benjamin Franklin wrote “Rules by Which a Great Empire May Be Reduced to a Small One” in the first person to instruct viewers on how to shrink a mighty empire (Franklin, 2015). An unnamed sender sent Franklin letters from the colonial system loyal to the British, which contributed to the founding of the US. In September 1773, Franklin wrote a counterpoint titled “An Edict by the King of Prussia,” written by the King. The headline of a provocative conquest in Britain was meant to be read as a subtle rebuke of the British Empire. Franklin was well conscious that his audience did not have a vast empire to weaken. He hoped readers would think about the injustices an empire could do to its colonies. However, it is unclear what the overall gist of Franklin’s manuscripts about how to decrease a kingdom is.
The writer makes his point by suggesting that Franklin begins the article by comparing a Sage and a Simpleton. The Sage understands how to expand landholdings, such as colonial settlements. Franklin writes in the persona of the Simpleton to demonstrate to readers how they might do the contrary and risk losing their colonies. Franklin uses a similar approach with his other books to provide wise counsel through the medium of someone who appears to be unsophisticated. The statement shows particular evidence in Franklin’s Poor Richard’s Almanac, where he publishes as Poor Richard and uses the pen name Poor Richard (Franklin, 2015). Franklin is counting on perceptive readers to see that this straightforward piece of advice is also a scathing assessment of the way Britain was wearing down the colonists’ patience in the Americas. The narrator continues by drawing a comparison between limiting the size of a kingdom and shrinking the size of the pie. Following a relatively humorous start, Franklin examines how a domain can cause widespread discontent among its colonists. In his discussion of what to do to shrink an empire, he perfectly demonstrates what the British administration has done without drawing any direct allegations against them. Franklin states in his essay that an emperor that wishes to lose its territories should approach its colonies with distrust and disdain while simultaneously imposing taxes on them. Therefore, it is precisely what the British administration has done to the United States and Canada settlements.
Franklin adds that he uses wit to convey his serious message about the colonists’ grievances against the British Empire. He’s not just sarcastic. The author compares a collapsing cake to a crumbling empire early in the essay. He observes that removing a cake is similar to eliminating colonies: start at the corners. Most people do not begin cutting in the middle.
Similarly, the essay’s narrator recommends readers start with remote locations and then go on to the rest. Even though Franklin was still in London to represent the colonies, some colonists felt he was not fully representing them. They had no depiction in the British Parliament. Moreover, the legislature could write legislation that harmed colonists without their consent. Knowing how the British law system worked, colonists felt different laws ran the colonies. They thought the colonial rules were stricter.
References
Franklin, B. (2015). Rules by Which a Great Empire may be reduced to a Small One. Arsalan Ahmed.
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