By the end of the 17th century, Great Britain had few trees remaining which were suitable to be used as masts for merchant and naval ships. White pine trees were considered to be the best type of tree to use for these single-stick masts. Each New Hampshire town's charter declared that the white pine tree which grew within the Colonies were property of the King of Great Britain, no matter who owned the land.  This meant that land owners were not allowed to cut any trees that had been marked by the Sheriff  to be saved for masts of ships.

The Residents of Weare, New Hampshire refused to follow the law and were fined as a result.  They refused to pay the fines and when the Sheriff and his deputy came to arrest the rebellious mill owners a riot erupted and the Sheriff and his deputy were lashed with tree switches by the angry crowd.    Eventually the rioters were caught and did in fact pay fines of 20 shillings each, but the rebellion still remains a pre-cursor event that led to the Revolutionary war.

What do you think of that?