In the 1700s, colonists increasingly responded to the restrictions placed on their economies by.

A) More commonly adhering to and adopting mercantilist policies

B) Gradually resisting imperial control by establishing more autonomous governments

C) Spreading European Enlightenment ideas

D) Embracing settlement westward

C

Explanation:

A) is incorrect because the colonists were furious about the new rules Britain were placing on them, so they began acting against the crown.

B) is incorrect because though the colonists began setting up governments and holding meetings, they did not make any form of autonomous government until the Declaration of Independence.

C) is correct because the ideas of John Locke's (and another guy whom I forgot) are almost directly quoted in the Declaration of Independence, and were a strong belief of the colonists before, during, and after the war.

D) is incorrect because the English crown did not allow colonists to settle past the mountains, in fact they strictly forbid it. (Native Americans were also an issue at the time, and the colonists feared them)