目次一、英帝国的国内形势二、英帝国的国家能力三、英国本土与殖民地之间的利益平衡四、北美殖民地的政治、经济与社会结构五、结论若要评价一项制度革新比起前者是否具有进步意义,恐怕首先要探讨一下何为进步。以成败论英雄固然易于为人所接受,但这并非历史研究的态度。换言之,以宪政或是民族自决意义上的成功来掩盖制度变革过程中的倒退是不可取的。从这个角度上来说,大英帝国在美国革命前 First, the British Empire’s domestic situation Second, the British Empire’s ability Third, the balance of interests between Britain and the colonies Fourth, the colonial North American politics, economy and social structure Five conclusions To evaluate a system reform than the former Whether there is progress, I am afraid we must first explore what is progress. Heroes of success or failure of the course easy to be accepted, but this is not the attitude of historical research. In other words, it is not advisable to cover up the course of institutional change with the success of constitutionalism or national self-determination. From this perspective, the British Empire before the American Revolution