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Albany Congress
A meeting between the Thirteen Colonies, the English Crown, and the Iroquois Confederacy to discuss the rising threat of the French and the interior native tribes. They presented a plan of union which prompted the Confederacy to walk out of the meeting. This marks the first time we hear Benjamin Franklin's name, as he was postmaster general and was required to get this news to the whole of the colonies. -
Seven Years' War begins in Europe
The first European conflict to begin on American soil started as a small fire to be put out by up and coming Colonel George Washington. The small soon grew to a full-scale war with battles being fought on land and sea. The French were eventually defeated and forced to surrender all their colonial strongholds to the British or Spanish. -
William Pitt becomes Prime Minister
William Pitt was young and ambitious and believed he could save England from coming economic trouble and provide expansion. He convinced the Prussians to fight for the English so that their land and naval forces could be saved for colonial expansion. Pitt also promised the Natives that some land would be returned and the English crown would draw lines to keep the colonists out of hunting lands. Pitt succeeded and turned the tide of the war. -
Louisburg is captured by the British for a second time
Regular British forces took Louisburg, which set the stage to take all of the St. Lawrence Valley. They took over all the forts in the area and plundered the Indian land in the area. -
British capture Quebec
After being told to "burn and lay waste to the country" the British forces plundered the farms surrounding Quebec. There was a bloody battle fought on the Plains of Abraham and many men lost their lives. The conquest of Montreal the next year meant the end of the French in Canada. -
Treaty of Paris
This treaty signed away all of France's rights to their North American territories. The English gained all of the territories, with the exception of New Orleans, that the French had previously had. New Orleans and all the other Mississippi area territories went to Spain. -
Proclamation of 1763 creates "Indian Country"
The British crown set aside territory west of the Appalachian Mountains to be used as a native land. The colonists thought that the removal of the French would mean they could move west uninterrupted, but the British government forbade it. -
Sugar Act
The British wanted to raise revenue in the colonies so they decided to pass the Sugar Act, which placed a tax on all imported sugar and placed restrictions on where you could buy sugar from. -
Stamp Act
Placed a tax on stamps, which were official seals on pieces of paper. This angered the Americans, who felt that "virtual representation" was not enough to pass a law for the colonists. They had no say in what happened. -
Declaratory Act
In a brilliant moment of the Kind losing his patience, he wrote an act to state that he had ultimate power and could pass any sort of act he wanted to. Because he was the King. -
Townsend Revenue Acts
Placed import duties, collectible before goods entered colonial markets, on many commodities including lead, glass, paper, and tea. It was repealed in 1770. -
Boston Massacre
British troops fired on an unarmed crowd of Bostonians. This just added to the trouble that was brewing in Boston at the time. -
Tea Act and Boston Tea Party
The British government passed an act that stated the Americans got no revenue from tea being sold. In December of 1773, the British colonists dumped $10,000 worth of tea into the Boston Harbor. This infuriated the British government and that led to the Intolerable Acts. -
Intolerable Acts
The Boston Port Bill closed Boston Harbor from all ships coming in. Massachusetts Government Act annulled Massachusetts colonial charter and made it a royal colony. Administration of Justice Act protected all British officials from being tried for crimes in America. The Quartering Act legalized the housing of British troops in private homes. The Quebec Act made a government for Canada. -
Fighting begins at Lexington & Concord
General Gage sent troops to Boston to get the arms from that area. The "minutemen" helped raise arms against the British troops and defeat the British at both battles. The 'shot hears round the world' became known as the beginning of the American Revolution. -
Declaration of Independence
After fighting for around 10 months the Continental Congress had Thomas Jefferson write the Declaration of Independence that formally stated that America was going to be free of British rule.