Causes of the Revolutionary WarHaphazard and disorganized British rule of the American colonies in the decade before the outbreak led to the Revolutionary War. The mismanagement of the colonies, tax policies that violated the rights of the colonists, the distractions of foreign wars and politics in England, and mercantilist policies that benefited the English to a much greater extent than the colonists show British incompetence in their dominion over colonies. . These policies and distractions were some of the causes of the Revolutionary War. England's interests within the colonies were self-centered. The English exploited the attempt to govern the colonies using the mercantilist system. Mercantilism is when the state directs all economic activities within its borders (Blum 31). England was not attempting to make changes that would help the colonists. They limited the colonies' trade to domestic trade only (Miller 9). The English were exploiting the colonies by demanding that the colonies import more from England than they exported to the colonies. They imported raw materials from the colonies and transformed them into goods exportable to England. They would then ship these goods to foreign markets around the world, including the colonies (America Online). Throughout the 17th century the English saw America as a place to obtain materials they did not have at home and a market in which to sell finished products after the goods had been manufactured. This was harmful to the colonies because it prevented them from producing the raw materials they produced and made them more dependent on England. In addition to the turmoil caused by their mercantilist policies, internal political issues distracted them from the activities of the colonies. During the seventeenth century, Great Britain became more involved in resolving the constitutional question of who should have more power in the English government, the king or parliament. When this complex issue was finally resolved in the Glorious Revolution of 1688, England turned its attention again to the colonies and found that the colonists had developed their own identities as Americans. In England there was no central office to control what happened in the colonies. Executive power in England was divided between several ministers and commissioners who did not act quickly or in unison. Furthermore, the Board of Trade, the branch of government that knew more about the colonies than any other government body in England, had no power to make decisions or enforce decrees..