The American Revolutionary War was, amongst other things, instigated by the notion of taxation without representation. However this concept that people who are taxed ought to be politically representated was a concept born of European ideals. The Indians under the Mughals, for example, did not receive political representation. The concept didn't even exist as they had no democratic systems. The British settlers of the colonies were of a culture that - arguably, with the Magna Carta - birthed the idea that taxation obligates representation. They were of the same culture, the same faith, the same blood as their counterparts in English and so felt they should be treated the same. Obviously people in colonial Hong Kong did not have the same background.

The British didn't "fix up their act" in most of their acquired territories, because there was no need to. Kenyans had never experienced political representation or democracy so they were not up in arms when they did not receive it by the British.

However they did learn from their mistakes in colonies in which the British came to be the majority, as in Australia and New Zealand. Here citizens were treated as equally as citizens living in England. It is important to note that it was never actually policy to tax settlers without representation, but George III felt it was necessary as Great Britain was virtually bankrupt following the Seven Years' War. Additionally, much of the Commons disagreed with George III's policy, but felt it was an economical necessity.