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The End of the French and Indian War
At the end of the French and Indian War Britain was in major debt. In order to pay off it's war debt Britain decided to tax it's colonies without their consent. This is the start of "taxation without representation." -
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Major Events
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The Sugar Act
The Sugar Acts were imposed by Prime Minister George Greenville. The Suagar Acts actually lowered the cost of molasses but it created custom officers and created courts in which collected the duties in which the colonists needed to pay and persocuted smugglerss -
The Stamp Act
The Stamp Act was first a tax imposed on printed items. This soon began to add a fee onto printed materials, for example newspapers and documents. -
The Quartering Acts
The Quartering Acts were also passed by the British Parliament which stated that the colonists were required to house and provide for any British soldiers whom may have entered their household. -
The Declaratory Act
The Declaratory Act repealed the Stamp Act, but gave back the Parliament's right to rule the colonies the way the Parliament wanted to rule. -
The Townshend Acts
Import taxes were placed on many goods to support royal officials in the colonies. The taxes were so unpopular that they were all reappealed, except the one on tea. -
The Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was a riot started by 50 citizens who threw snowballs, stones, and sticks at a group of Bristish soldiers. Many believed that British troop Capatain Prescot yelled fire killing 5 and wounding 6 the Captain along with his troops were aquitted. they were represented by John Adams. -
The Tea Act
The Tea Act was created to save the East India Tea Company. Even though the tax lowered the price of tea it gave the company a monopoly and threatend the business of colonial importers. -
The Intolerable Acts
These acts were made to force Massachusetts to pay for the tea destroyed in the Boston Tea Party. These laws closed the Boston Harbor and forced colonists to house British soldiers in their homes. -
The Battle of Lexington and Concord
War erupted in two country towns west of Boston, where Gage provoked the battles by sending troops to arrest Hancock and Adams in Lexington and to seize Patriot weapons stored in Concord. Tipped off by men riding in the countryside, the British arrived by morning. Eventually a shot was fired and after the shooting stopped 8 Patriots were dead. This is famously known as the "shot heard around the world"
