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At the end of the French and Indian War, Britain was in debt and they expect the colonists to pay for it without their consent. Britian also had an expensive job of guarding the vast territory they won from the French. The British thought it should be the colonists job to pay for these expenses.
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From the end of the French and Indian War to the start of the American Revolution.
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The Stamp Act was a law passed by parliament that required colonists to pay taxes on printed material. This is the first time parliament imposed a direct tax within the colonies.
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The Nonimportation Agreements were a boycot of good imported from Britain. When colonists stopped buying British goods, they needed "homespun" cloth to substitue for British-maunfactured goods.
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Parliament passed the Townshend Acts which levied the tax on item such as, glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea. The colonists insisted that they would pay no knew taxes that parliament imposed.
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The Boston Massacre was a street fight between a patriot mob throwing snowballs and rocks at British soldiers guarding the customs house. A few colonists were killed and that led to the creation of a network of local committees of correspondence.
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The colonists thought that the British were trying to trick them into paying the tax. One night, Boston Patriots were dressed as Indians and came aboard three British ships laden with tea and dumped it into the harbor. This event is now known as the Boston Tea Party.
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Parliament punished Boston with the Coercive Acts. Parliament closed the port for trade until all tea was paid for including the tax. They increased the power of the governors at the expense of elected assamblies and town meetings. Parliament sent warships and troops to the colonies to make sure these acts were enforced.
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The Intolerable Acts made colonists let British soldiers live in there house and feed them. Also allowed British officals to be tried in Britain on what they did in the colonies.
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Delegates from every colony except Georgia met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The delegates announced a boycott of all British imports to make parliament withdraw the Coercive Acts.
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The dispute between the British government and the colonists took a drastic turn. Colonial leaders such as John Hancock and Samuel Adams started to govern Massachusetts without gage. They started to stock ammunition and arms.
