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The Albany congress
The British who expected war with the french was coming called a meeting of colonial leaders. The Iroquois were also invited by the British to the meeting. The British wanted the colonies to work together to defend themselves. They also wanted to create an alliance with the Iroquois. The Iroquois refused partially because the expected the French to win the war. But the colonial leaders tried to come up with a plan to defend themselves. -
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The French and Indian war
The British, Colonist and Iroquis fought against The French, Huron and The Algonkin Indians. Both sides were fighting over land in North America. The British won the war winning all of the French's North American empire. -
The Proclamation of 1763
The proclamation act of 1763 was issued by the British government to try and prevent further wars with Native Americans on the frontier. It banned colonial settlement west of a drawn line along the Appalachian mountains. The proclamation act upset many colonist who believed they had the right to live where they wanted. The Proclamation was widely ignored and proved impossible for the British to enforce. -
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Pontiac's war
The leader of the Ottawa nation, Pontiac, formed a alliance of western Native Americans. In May 1763 Pontiac and his allies attacked British forts and settlements throughout the area. Nearly half a dozen British forts were destroyed and at least 2,000 backcountry settlers were killed.The British finally defeated Pontiac's forces in early August at a battle near Fort Pitt. -
The Treaty of Paris
After the British conquered Quebec France couldn't defend there territory in North America. Montreal,the other major French city fell in Canada in 1760. After losing there capital the French met with the British and signed the Treaty of Paris. One of the terms in the treaty was that the French had to cede (surrender) French Canada to Great Britain they also gave the British all other territory east of the Mississippi river with exception of New Orleans. Britain also got Spanish Florida. -
The Quartering act
The Quartering Act was put in place one year after The Proclamation of 1763. The Quartering Act required colonist to house, British troops and provide them with and other supplies. -
The Sugar Act
The Sugar Act was passed by Parliament in 1764 in a effort to impose new taxes on the colonist. The Sugar Act put a import tax on sugar and molasses. The Sugar Act also called for harsh punishment of smugglers. -
The Stamp Act
The Stamp Act was passed by Parliament in early 1765. The Stamp Act required that all colonist to buy special tax stamps for all paper products, such as newspapers,wills,licenses,insurance, policies, land titles and contracts. -
The Intolerable Acts
In 1765, Parliament passed four laws. The first of these laws closed the port of Boston. The second abolished the upper house of the Massachusetts legislature. The third cut the powers of town meetings. The fourth law strengthened the 1756 Quartering Act. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre took place on March 5, 1770 in Boston. An angry crowd colonist surrounded a small group of British soldiers. The crowd threw rocks and snow balls at the soldiers. The soldiers fired into the crowd, killing five people and wounding six. -
The Tea Act
The Tea Act was intended to help the British East India Company. For many years the company had made money growing and selling tea. So when the colonist boycotted tea it seriously hurt the company. The Tea Act lowered the price of tea allowing the East India company to ship tea directly to the colonies. The Prime Minister of England thought that the colonist should not object the act. But the act angered many colonist because the East India Company had a monopoly on the tea market. -
The First Continental
In 1774 12 of the 13 colonies sent delegates to Philadelphia. In this meeting Congress demanded the repeal of the Intolerable acts. It also called for each state to train a militia. The congress also called for a new boycott of British goods. -
The Boston Tea Party
A group of colonist called the Sons of Liberty started organizing in port cities to stop the East India Company Tea from being unloaded. In Boston on the night of December 16, 1773, a large group gathered in the harbor. Suddenly , a large crowd of men dressed as Native Americans boarded the tea ship and threw all the tea over board. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
In April 1775 the governor of Boston learned that the minutemen were storing arms in Concord, he sent 700 hundred troops. Five miles from Concord in Lexington about 77 minutemen were waiting for the 700 troops. The British commander told the minute men to go home, They refused and a shot was fired. Then the British opened fire killing 8 Americans. A larger battle took place at Concord and this time 400 minutemen fought the British killing three of them. As the British retreaded to Boston. -
The Battle for Fort Ticonderoga
On May 10, 1775 an important battle took place in northern New York. The Battle was a surprise attack on Fort Ticonderoga by 83 colonist.The fort stood at the southern end of Lake Champlain and protected the water route to Canada. Leading the force was Ethan Allen. Allen's force reached the fort by crossing the river at night and surprising the British. The 42 British troops surrendered almost immediately. The fort contained cannons that would later help George Washington retake Boston. -
The Second Continental Congress
On May 10th, 1775 The Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia. At first the Congress was split on what to do. Nearly all of the delegates agreed that the colonies needed to raise an army. The Congress chose George Washington to command new this army. Also in order to pay for the army Congress printed paper money. The Congress was starting to look and act like a government. -
The Battle of Bunker and Breeds Hill
The Americans surrounding Boston were farmers and workers, not trained soldiers. The British General William Howe decided to attack straight up Breeds Hill. The American commander, Israel Putman knew his men didn't have much ammo, he told them not to fire until the British were 150 feet away hundreds of British troops went down. Two British attacks failed but on the third Americans ran out of ammo and were forced to retreat. The British won the battle but at great cost. -
The Olive Branch Petition
Even months after the battle of Lexington and Concord many delegates still hoped for peace with the British. Two resolutions were passed. The first was called the Olive Branch Petition and was sent to the king. The Petition said that the colonist were still loyal to king. It also asked King George to stop the fighting so all disputes could be solved peacefully. The petition got it's name from the olive branch which has been a symbol of peace since ancient times. The effort to make peace failed. -
The British withdrawal form Boston
In July 1775 George Washington arrived in Boston and took charge of the attack. Washington had dragged the cannon from Fort Ticonderoga all the way to Boston to even the odds against the British. In March Washington positioned the cannons on high ground around Boston. The British could no longer defend Boston and on March 17, 1776 they withdrew from Boston by sea and never returned. -
The Invasion of Quebec
In December 1775 two army's of American soldiers one led by Richard Montgomery the other led by Benedict Arnold moved north through Maine. In late December 1775 the Americans attacked Quebec. The attack failed, Montgomery was killed and Arnold was wounded. The Americans stayed outside Quebec until May 1776 but the British landed new forces and disease and hunger made the Americans withdrawal.