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The French and Indian War, or the Seven Years War, was fought between the French, the British, and the Native Americans. Britain emerged victorious and laid claim to all of France’s territories east of the Mississippi River, but were left with massive amounts of debt and no way to repay it.
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The Proclamation of 1763 stated the colonists were forbidden to settle west of the Appalachian Mountains and Britain controlled all land transactions, settlement, and trade in this region.
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The Sugar Act was the first act of many created to repay Britain for defending the colonies. The Sugar Act sought to end the smuggling of goods in and out of the colonies. It gave the British Navy more power and made it so high-value exports such as tobacco, sugar, and timber to be shipped directly to Britain to be sold. This act also placed import taxes on cloth, sugar, coffee, and wine. These restrictions only increased smuggling.
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The Stamp Act was another bill introduced to create revenue for Britain. This bill required all paper products to be stamped to prove the tax had ben paid. Colonists were heavily opposed to this bill, even going as far as to establish the Stamp Act Congress to fight the bill.
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As more colonists became outspoken against Britain, they decided to increase the military presence in the colonies. This was done through the Quartering Act. The Quartering Act forced colonists to feed soldiers and allow them into their homes. Many protested and kept their doors shut.
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The Townshend Acts, named for Charles Townshend, were a series of acts imposed to create more revenue for Britain. These acts taxed many imported goods, such as glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea. Although the majority of the Townshend Acts were repealed, the tax on tea remained.
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The Boston Massacre was a controversial topic among colonists. On March 5th of 1770, a group of colonists began harrassing British soldiers and throwing objects at them. As the British drew their attention to them, colonists shouted for them to shoot. In a confused state, British soldiers mistook this as an order and killed 5 people. The Boston Massacre was heavily publicized and exaggerated to fully exploit the people and fuel the rapidly growing revolt against Britain.
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The 1773 Tea Act was created for the sole purpose of bailing out the British East India Tea Company. This act granted the company a complete monopoly over the colonies' tea market. This act was seen as the final straw for many colonists and it was what ultimately led to the Boston Tea Party.
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On the night of December 13th, 1773, the Sons of Liberty, disguised as Native Americans, snuck onto British East India Tea Company ships in Boston Harbor to dump the supply of tea. 92,000 pounds of tea were dumped, equal to over 1 million US dollars. This protest caused Britain to become much more strict on the Massachusetts colony and replace their current government.
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The Intolerable Acts, a direct rettaliation of the Boston Tea Party, attempted to punish the Massachusetts colonists for their acts against Britain. These bills banned all trade in Boston Harbor, reinstated the Quartering Act, removed the current government, and allowed for trials of British citizens for crimes in the colonies to be held in Britain.
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The First Continental Congress, lead by Peyton Randolph, was a group of delegates from 12/13 colonies. This group sought to find a solution to the conflicts with Britain. The First Continental Congress established a full boycott of British goods and began preparing for a chance of war.
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The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first battles of the American Revolution. On the dawn of April 19th, 1775, British soldiers marched to Lexington in pursuit of a large rebel weapons supply. A short battle took place when they encountered a group of militiamen. The British marched into Concord, unbeknownst to the fact that the weapons had already been relocated. They searched for 4 hours until they were surprised by 2,000 militiamen, who quickly ended the battle.