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The Albany Congress
The British government called a meeting in Albany New York, to get the colonists to agree to defend themselves against the French. The Iroquois were also invited to form an alliance with the British but they declined because they expected the French to win. They did this because they feared a war would break out soon. Benjamin Franklin put a picture in his newspaper saying join or die. Meaning that if you don't join the colonies you will die. -
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The French and Indian War
The British, the colonists and the Iroquios vs. The French, the Huron ans the Algonquins. A war between the French and the British, over the Ohio river valley. The British win, and the French lose their entire North American empire. -
The Treaty of Paris
The Treaty was the end of the French and Indian war. In the treaty the French surrendered, French Canada, East of the Mississippi except New Orleans, and Spanish Florida. -
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Pontiac's war
Pontiac, the leader of the Ottawa nation, formed an alliance of western Native Americans. They attacked British forts and settlements all through the Ohio river valley. At least 2000 backcountry settlers were killed. British troops finally defeated Pontiac's forces at a battle near Fort Pitt. -
Proclamation of 1763
After Pontiac's war Britian wanted to avoid more wars with with the Native Americans. The British government passed a proclamation saying that settlers weren't allowed to settle west of a line drawn along the Appalachian mountain range. This made settlers mad because the settlers believed they had the right to settle wherever they wanted. It was mostly ignored and it was almost impossible for the British to inforce -
The Stamp Act
In early 1765 the British parliament passed the Stamp Act. This act required all colonists buy tax stamps for wills newspapers contracts etc. There were many widespread protests against the stamp act. Finally in 1766 the stamp act was repealed. -
The Quartering Act
Parliament needed a way to enforce the Proclamation of 1763 so, they passed the quartering act. This act requires colonists to house and feed troops. The colonists said that they were violating their rights. -
The Sugar Act
The British parliament needed money after the war so they put a tax on sugar and molasses for the colonists. This act also called for a harsh punishment for smugglers. Colonial merchants protested. -
The Boston Massacre
On March 1770 parliament repealed all Townshend duties except the one in tea. However they were not fast enough a small crowd of people surrounded a small group of soldiers and threw rocks and snowballs at them. The soldiers fired into the crowd killing 5 and injuring 6. -
The Tea Act
The tea act was intended to help the British East India Company, one of Britain's most important companies. The tea act lowered the price of tea by allowing the East India Company to ship tea directly to the colonies. Before the Tea act tea had to be shipped through Britain first. Instead of helping it hurt the East India Tea Company Because colonists were boycotting tea. -
Boston Tea Party
A group of colonists called the Sons of Liberty gathered in port cities to prevent tea from being unloaded. No tea was unloaded. However in Boston, Governor Thomas Hutchinson made sure that the tea was unloaded by refusing to give the ships the papers that allowed them to return to England. After two weeks a large group of men disguised as Native Americans boarded the ships and threw 342 cases of tea overboard. -
Intolerable Acts
The Boston Tea party outraged the British government and king. They passed 4 new laws that the colonists called the intolerable acts because of how harsh they were. The first closed the port of Boston. The next abolished the upper house of the Massachusetts legislature, and cut the powers of town meetings. The fourth strengthened the 1775 quartering act. -
First Continental Congress
The committee of correspondence organized this meeting and all of the thirteen colonies except Georgia sent representatives. They met to order the repeal of the intolerable acts. It also called for the training of militias to stand against British troops if necessary. Lastly they called for a new boycott of British goods and voted to meet again in May 1775 -
The Battles of Lexington and Concord
The British had no intention of meeting the demands. In April the new governor of Mass. learned that the minutemen were storing arms in Concord about 20 miles from Boston. He sent 700 troops to seize the arms. Five miles from Concord in the town of Lexington 77 minutemen were waiting when the British arrived. The British told the minutemen to go home and they refused. Suddenly a shot rang out nobody knows who fired it but it turned out to be the first shot of the American Revolution. -
The Second Continental Congress
Even after the battles of Lexington and Concord most colonists didn't favor independence, there were however people who would fight with force to defend their rights. After the problem with Britain only got worse the Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia. They decided to form an army. They chose George Washington as the commander.They also printed paper money to pay for the army. They started to act like a government. -
Battle of Fort Ticonderoga
On the same day the Second Continental Congress began meeting a daring group of colonists led by blacksmith Ethan Allen attacked Fort Ticonderoga. Fort Ticonderoga protected the water route to Canada. Allen's force of 83 men were known as the green mountain boys. Fort Ticonderoga not only controlled the main route between Canada and the Hudson river valley but also had many weapons stored there. -
Battle of Bunker and Breed's Hill
The Americans surrounding Boston were not trained soldiers so nobody knew if they would stand up and fight against the tough British troops. The British General decided to attack straight up Breeds Hill. The America commander knew that his soldiers did not have much ammunition so they waited until the British were only 150 feet away to open fire. When they did hundreds of British soldiers were wounded. The attack failed, so did the second. -
Olive Branch Petition
The congress sent the Olive Branch Petition to King George in hopes that it could restore peace. The petition said that the colonists were loyal to the king. They asked him to stop the fighting so that all disputes could be solved peacefully. The petition got its name from the olive branch, the universal symbol of peace. The king did not agree to the petition. He declared that the colonists were "in open...rebellion". -
The Invasion of Quebec
The Americans attacked Quebec during a severe snowstorm. The attack was turned back Montgomery was killed and Arnold was wounded. The Americans stayed outside Quebec until May 1776, when the British brought more forces to Canada. Weakened by hunger and diseases the Americans withdrew leaving Canada to the British. -
The British Withdrawal from Boston
George Washington had the British cannons from Fort Ticonderoga dragged on sleds 300 miles to Boston, it took three months. He set them up on high ground around the city. When the British could no longer defend the city, they withdrew from Boston and never returned.