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Proclamation of 1763 (Part 1)
After the French and Indian War ended in 1763, the Proclamation was put into effect, which closed off the frontier to colonial expansion, so the colonists could go no farther than the Appalachian Trail. The King and his council presented the Proclamation in order to calm the fears of the Indians, who thought that the colonists would push them from their lands as they continued to expand westward. The colonists felt as though their opportunity to continue to expand was snatched away from them. -
Proclamation of 1763 (Part 2)
Colonists felt that the Proclamation was a plot to keep them under control.
The colonists became very angry and decided to move west anyways because owning land was very important (needed land to vote).
The Proclamation led to the Stamp Act and the Quartering Act. -
The Stamp Act (Part 2)
The colonists were upset and boycotted British goods.
The colonists organized the Sons of Liberty and Daughters of Liberty
Organized attacks were put into place onto the custom house and home of tax collectors. -
The Stamp Act (Part 1)
The French and Indian War (Seven Years’ War) was incredibly expensive, so the British were put into a lot of debt. Their solution to this was to tax goods being sent to the Thirteen Colonies. The Stamp Act required that a large number of paper products -- from things like newspaper and paper products to playing cards -- only be printed on paper carrying a loyal stamp. The stamp was a tax. -
The Townshend Act (Part 1)
Increased taxes on British goods, like paper, glass, paint, tea, etc. Soon after, the boycotting of British goods was being supported. The British Government quickly sent their troops to intimidate the colonists; however, it only made things much worse.On March 5, 1770 the British Government finally gave in and repealed the taxes on everything except for tea. Unfortunately, it was far too late. Blood had been shed on the very same day. -
The Townshend Act (Part 2)
... 5 colonists were killed during a confrontation with the British soldiers. This is known as the Boston Massacre.
The colonists were very angry, so they boycotted British goods again.
The Townshend Acts were met with resistance in the colonies, which eventually resulted in the Boston Massacre. -
The Boston Massacre (Part 2)
Led directly to the Royal Governor evacuating the occupying army from the town of Boston.
Soon brought the revolution to armed rebellion throughout the colonies. -
The Boston Massacre (Part 1)
Street fight that quickly turned into something much more dangerous. The mob of 200 people threw ice, stones, and threw clubs at the squad of British soldiers. During this riot, five colonists were killed when the soldiers shot into the crowd. It is not known who is to blame because it is not known what completely happened that day. -
The Boston Tea Party (Part 1)
A tax on tea had been put into place since the Townshend Acts. People usually got tea by buying tea smuggled in from the Netherlands. To end this, the British government passed a law saying that only the British East India Company was allowed to sell tea in colonies. In response, the Sons of Liberty dressed as Indians, boarded a ship in the Boston Harbor, and tossed $4 million worth of tea. -
The Boston Tea Party (Part 2)
The British shut down the Boston Harbor until all of the chests of tea were paid for.
Implemented by the Intolerable Acts, known as the Boston Port Act. -
The Coercive/Intolerable Acts (Part 1)
The British had lost huge sums of money on looted, spoiled, and destroyed goods to the colonies. Following the Boston Tea Party, the British Government passed the Intolerable Acts to punish the colonists. This closed Boston Harbor, gave Canadians the right to settle in the Ohio River Valley, housed soldiers in peoples houses, and took away Massachusetts' right to elect its own officials. -
The Coercive/Intolerable Acts (Part 2)
The colonists responded by convening the First Continental Congress to discuss a unified approach to the British.
Even more colonists turned against the British rule. -
Proclamation of Rebellion (Lord Dunmore’s Proclamation) (Part 1)
The proclamation declared martial law and promised freedom for slaves of American revolutionaries who had joined the royal forces after leaving their owners. The local governments of Massachusetts participated in the boycott of British imports and citizens began forming militias and storming arms. Massachusetts was declared to be in a state of rebellion by Parliament. It would be another six months before the other colonies would be similarly indicated. -
Proclamation of Rebellion (Lord Dunmore’s Proclamation) (Part 2)
The proclamation failed in meeting Dunmore’s objectives.
Dunmore was forced out of the colony in 1776, taking about 399 former slaves with him. -
The Battles of Lexington and Concord (Part 1)
British forces heard about weapons being stored in the towns of Lexington and Concord and decided they needed to be taken. The missions to take weapon stores were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War and marked the start of armed conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the thirteen colonies in America. The British captured leaders Sam Adama and John Hancock as well. -
The Battles of Lexington and Concord (Part 2)
Spies and friends of the Americans leaked word of Gage’s plan, so two lanterns were hung from Boston's North Church, which informed the countryside that the British were going to attack by sea. This sparked the beginning of the battle for independence.
The battles constituted the first military conflicts of the American Revolution.
The colonists won the battles.
Britain - 269 casualties, Colonists - 49 dead; 34 wounded; 5 missing. -
The Battle of Bunker Hill (Part 1)
Colonial forces surrounded Boston in the early days of the war and when they heard that the British were going to fortify the surrounding hills to gain control of the Boston Harbor, they made an attempt to stop them. 1,200 colonial troops fortified Bunker and Breed’s Hills and dealt heavy losses to British forces who were forced to advance uphill. -
The Battle of Bunker Hill (Part 2)
The British claimed victory because they won the hill.
The colonists claimed victory because they killed lots of British soldiers.
The battle provided them with an important confidence boost during the Siege of Boston. -
Burning of Falmouth (Part 1)
As retribution for Thompson’s War, Captain Mowhat returned to Falmouth (modern-day Portland) at the head of a fleet. In a letter to the city, Captain Mowhat told the citizens they were ‘guilty of the most unpardonable Rebellion’ and that it was now time for him to ‘execute a just Punishment.’ Within hours, Portland was burned to the ground. Citizens were forced to leave behind their homes and possessions as they fled for their lives. -
Burning of Falmouth (Part 2)
Almost half of the population was left homeless while winter began to set in.
The entire town was burned to the ground.