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Navigation Acts
Navigation Acts were a series of laws that restricted the use of foreign ships for trade between Britain and its colonies. They began in 1651 and ended 200 years later. -
The French and Indian War
The Seven Years’ War (called the French and Indian War in the colonies) lasted from 1754 to 1763, forming a chapter in the imperial struggle between Britain and France. France’s expansion into the Ohio River valley repeatedly brought it into conflict with the claims of the British colonies, especially Virginia. -
The Proclamation of 1763
The Proclamtion of 1763 was issued by the British King George lll. The Proclamation of 1763 was made following the British victory over France in the French and Indian Wars. The Royal Proclamation of 1763 was perceived as being beneficial to the Native American Indians and Great Britain but as detrimental to the colonists. -
Sugar Act
The Sugar Act put a three-cent tax on foreign refined sugar and increased taxes on coffee, indigo, and certain kinds of wine. It banned importation of rum and French wines. These taxes affected only a certain part of the population, but the affected merchants were very vocal. The taxes were raised without the consent of the colonists. This was one of the first instances in which colonists wanted a say in how much they were taxed. -
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act was passed by the British Parliament on March 22, 1765. The new tax was imposed on all American colonist and required them to pay a tax on every piece of printed paper they used. -
The Declaratory Act
There was nothing drastic or immediately threatening about the Declaratory Act, passed by the British parliament immediately after the Stamp Act was repealed in 1766.It raised no new tax, placed no restriction or requisition on the colonial assemblies, in fact it did not require anything from the colonists at all – except an understanding of their subordinate role to the British crown and parliament.The Declaratory Act was simply a proclamation that reinforced parliament’s law-making power over. -
Townshend Acts
A series of measures introduced into the English Parliament by Chancellor of the Exchequer Charles Townshend in 1767, the Townshend Acts imposed duties on glass, lead, paints, paper and tea imported into the colonies. Townshend hoped the acts would defray imperial expenses in the colonies, but many Americans viewed the taxation as an abuse of power, resulting in the passage of agreements to limit imports from Britain. -
The Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was the killing of five colonists by British regulars on March 5, 1770. It was because of tensions in the American colonies that had been growing since Royal troops first appeared in Massachusetts in October 1768 to enforce the heavy tax burden imposed by the Townshend Acts. -
Boston Tea Party
This famed act of American colonial defiance served as a protest against taxation. Seeking to boost the troubled East India Company, British Parliament adjusted import duties with the passage of the Tea Act in 1773. While consignees in Charleston, New York, and Philadelphia rejected tea shipments, merchants in Boston refused to concede to Patriot pressure. On the night of December 16, 1773, Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty boarded three ships in the Boston harbor and threw 342 chests of tea -
The Intolerable Acts
The Intolerable Acts, also called the the Restraining Acts and the Coercive Acts, were a series of British Laws, passed by the Parliament of Great Britain 1774. Four of the Intolerable Acts were specifically aimed at punishing the Massachusetts colonists for the actions taken in the incident known as the Boston Tea Party. The fifth of the Intolerable Acts series was related to Quebec was seen as an additional threat to the liberty and expansion of the colonies. -
The First Continental Congress
The Continental Congress was where elected representatives of colonists assembled in revolt against Philadelphia on September 5, 1774 to debate what they should do in response to grievances of colonies against Great Britain.The grievances related to the laws passed by the British Parliament, the last straw being their passing of the Intolerable Acts that punished Boston for the Boston Tea Party.They made a Continental Army,issued the Declaration of Independence and framed Articles of Conferation -
The Second Continental Congress
Lexington and Concord had changed everything. When the Redcoats fired into the Boston crowd in 1775, the benefit of the doubt was granted. Now the professional imperial army was attempting to arrest patriot leaders, and minutemen had been killed in their defense. In May 1775, with Redcoats once again storming Boston, the Second Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia.
