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End of French and Indian War
The French and Indian War ended when the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1763.The debt of the war caused the colonists to pay taxes without the approval of their colonial assemblies.This greatly angered the colonists causing them to rebel in many ways. -
The 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 thed importation of rum and French wines, These taxes affected a certain part of population, but the affected mechants were very local.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. -
The Currency Act
The colonies suffered a constant shortage of currency with which to conduct trade. There were not any gold or silver mines and currency could only be obtained through trade. Many colonies began to print their own paper money in the form of Bills of Credit. British merchant creditors were very uncomfortable with this system. Parliament passed this act effectively assuming control of the colonial currency system. The act prohibited this issue of any new bills and the reissue of existing currency. -
The Stamp Act
Parliament passed this bill intending to raise money from the colonies.The Stamp Act required colonists to pay a tax on almost all printed materials including newspapers, books, court documents, contracts, and land deeds.This was the first time parliament had imposed a direct tax within the colonies. -
The Quartering Act of 1765
Parliament passes the Quartering Act, outlining the locations and conditions in which British soldiers are to find room and board in the American colonies.The Quartering Act of 1765 required the colonies to house British soldiers in barracks provided by the colonies. If the barracks were too small to house all the soldiers, then localities were to accommodate the soldiers in local inns, livery stables, ale houses, victualling houses, and the houses of sellers of wine. -
The Declaratory Act
Parliament agreed to repeal the Stamp Act on the condition that The Declaratory Act was passed. It raised no new tax, and placed no restriction or requisition on the colonial assemblies. The only thing it required from the colonists is an understanding of their subordinate role to the British crown and parliament. The Declaration Act was a proclamation that reinforced parliaments law-making power of the American colonies. -
The Townshend Revenue Act
This act imposed duties on glass, lead, paints, paper, and tea imported into the colonies. Many saw the taxation as an abuse of power, resulting in the passage of agreements to limit imports from Britain. In 1770, Parliament repealled all the Townshend duties except the tax on tea, leading to temporary truce on both sides in the years before the American revolution. -
The Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was a street fight between a patriot mob, they were throwing snowballs, stones, and sticks. Several colonists were killed which led to a campaign by speech-writers to rouse the ire of the citizenry. The British troops were very unwelcome. The riot began when about 50 citizens attacked a British sentinel. The Boston Massacre was a signal event leading to the Revolutionary War. -
The Tea Act
This act was passed by Parliament, it launched the final spark of the revolutionary movement in Boston. This act was not intended to raise revenue in the English Colonies and imposed no new taxes. This act was passed to bail out the floundering East India Company. The company was granted a monopoly on the importation and sale of tea in the colonies. -
The Boston Tea Party
British Parliament adjusted import duties with the passage of the Tea Act. Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty boarded three ships in the Boston harbor and threw 342 chests of tea overboard. This pushed the two sides closer to war. It took nearly three hours for more than 100 colonists to empty the tea. The chest held more than 90,000lbs of tea. -
Battle of Lexington and Concord
The Battle of Lexington and Concrod were the first military engagments of the American Revolutionary War. The battles were fought in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay.
