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French and Indian war
The Treaty of Paris ends the Seven Years War French and Indian War. France surrenders all of its North American possessions east of the Mississippi to Britain. This ends a source of insecurity for the British colonists along the Atlantic Coast. The costs of the war and maintaining an army will lead the British government to impose new taxes on its colonists, This would give the colonists a reason to go against Britain. -
Passage of the Stamp Act
Britain passes the Stamp Act, imposing a tax on legal documents, newspapers, even playing cards. This is the first direct tax on the American colonists and is hotly resisted. A successful American campaign to have the act repealed will give Americans confidence that they can avoid future taxes as well. -
British troops land in Boston
British troops land in Boston to enforce the Townshend taxes on paint, paper, tea, and clamp down on local radicals. The troops' presence doesn't sit well with locals and leads to street fights. -
Boston Massacre
In Boston, a small British army detachment that was threatened by mob harassment opened fire and killed five people, an incident soon known as the Boston Massacre. -
Committees of Correspondence Established
Committees of Correspondence are established throughout the colonies to coordinate American response to British colonial policy. This represents an important move toward cooperation, mutual action, and the development of a national identity among Americans. -
Boston Tea Party
Protesting both a tax on tea taxation without representation and the perceived monopoly of the East India Company, a party of Bostonians thinly disguised as Mohawk people boarded ships at anchor and dumped some £10,000 worth of tea into the harbor, an event popularly known as the Boston Tea Party. -
Lexington and Concord
The first shots of the Revolutionary War are fired at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts. The news of the bloodshed rockets along the eastern seaboard, and thousands of volunteers converge called "Minute Men" on Cambridge, Mass. These are the beginnings of the Continental Army. -
Battle of Bunker Hill: Americans Hold Their Own
In the first major action of the war, inexperienced colonial soldiers hold off hardened British veterans for more than two hours at Breed's Hill. Although eventually forced to abandon their position, including the high ground of Bunker Hill overlooking Boston, the patriots show that they are not intimidated by the long lines of red-coated infantrymen. Of the 2,200 British seeing action, more than 1,000 end up dead or wounded.
