England's Territorial Expansion 17th century England could have never known that its territorial expansion would be the downfall of its global dominance. Each land charter that was granted in the New World was, in a sense, a ticket for rebellion. The urge for separation began to grow among the settlers long before the War of Independence. And when England took notice of these feelings, it imposed restrictions on the colonies that only fanned the flames of the revolution. After the victorious French and Indian War, England had accumulated an extremely large debt. Since the war was fought for the benefit and protection of the co