Parliament couldn't back down on a tax

国会不会为了一个税收而让步
without seeming to give up their sovereignty over the colonies.

从而让人感觉它失去了对殖民地的统治权
By 1770,

到一七七零年
the right of taxation was not

征税的权力不仅是
just a means of producing revenue for the British,

为英国谋取利益
but it actually had become an assertion of British sovereignty

而是英国对其殖民地所拥有的
over its own colonies.

至高统治权
Okay. So now we're in 1770 and surprise,

好的现在我们处于一七七零年
surprise, by this time we have a new Prime Minister.

而惊讶地发现我们有了一名新总理
Lord North is now Prime Minister.

现任总理是诺思爵士
Townshend is gone,

汤森去世了
although we're sort of in a

尽管我们一直