Virtual representation is an idea developed in the British colonial period that said members elected to Parliament represented the whole British empire, not specific people or geographic locations. This was rejected by the American colonists that sought to be represented by their geographic location. According to the British constitution, colonists argued, taxes could be levied on British subjects only with their consent. Because the colonists were represented only in their provincial assemblies, they said, only those legislatures could levy taxes in the colonies. This concept was famously expressed as “No taxation without representation”.