Cheats:
If you press ALT and type WIN, you will get a new option on the menu bar.

When picking a country, go to the very bottom of the screen beneath Spain and click on the top of the red box.

To sell boycotted things, press select item and press U.

Hints:
Try to provide each colony with a carpenter, lumberjack, statesman, and priest along with a miner, blacksmith (for a supply of tools), and soldier (with cannon).
Click here for some more hints from PC Gamer Online.