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Albany Congress
The British government had a meeting with colonial leaders in Albany, New York. The British also invited the Iroquois tribe to the meeting. The British wanted to form an alliance with the Iroquois against the French. The Iroquois refused to make an alliance expecting the French to win the war. Benjamin Franklin drew a plan called "The Albany Plan of Union".The Albany congress approved Franklin's plan but the colonial assemblies rejected it. -
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French and Indian War
The French and Indian war was French/Indians vs British/Iroquois/Colonists. Both the French and British wanted control over the Ohio River Valley in North America. At the end the British won the battle. -
Treaty of Paris
After a major city Montreal, Canada fell in 1760 Britain and France signed the treaty of Paris, signed in Paris. The French lost almost all of its territory with the exception of The New Orleans. Great Britain gained all of The French's North American possessions and also all land East of the Mississippi. Great Britain also received Spanish Flordia. -
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Pontiac's War
The leader of the Ottawa Nation, Pontiac formed an alliance with of western Native Americans. Pontiac and his allies attacked British settlements and forts. British forts were destroyed and at least 2000 backcountry settlers were killed. The British reacted with the same violence. British also killed Native Americans that has not attacked them. When British forces defeated Pontiac's forces, the battle continued for another year but soon was over. -
Proclamation of 1763
Britain wanted to avoid any more wars with the Native Americans. Therefore the government of Britain issued the Proclamation of 1763. It banned colonial settlements west of the drawn line along the Appalachian Mountains. The Proclamation of 1763 made many colonist mad, because they believed they had the right to settle anywhere. The Proclamation was widely ignored by the colonist and impossible for British to enforce. -
The Sugar Act
The British's effort to impose new taxes on the colonies began in 1764. The Sugar Act put taxes on several products such as molasses. Also it called for harsh punishment of smugglers. Colonial merchants who sometimes also traded in smuggled goods, protested against the Sugar Act. -
The Stamp Act
The Stamp Act required all colonists to buy special tax stamps for various kinds of things including newspapers, wills, license, contracts, and land titles. Protests were widespread. House of Burgesses passed several resolutions declaring that it alone had the right to tax people of Virginia. Many people including merchants formed a boycott. Delegates sent a petition addressed to the king and parliament, demanding to end the Sugar Act and the Stamp Act. At the end the protests worked. -
The Quartering Act
The purpose of the Quartering Act was to also save money. To enforce the Quartering act Britain kept about 10,000 soldiers in the colonies. The act required colonist to quarter or house British troops and provide them with food and other supplies. However at the end the colonist protested angrily, complaining that the parliament was violating their rights. -
The Boston Massacre
Parilament repealed all the townshed duties, except for tea. Parliment didn't act in time. In Boston an angry crowd of workers and sailors surrounded a small group of soldiers. They shouted and threw things at them. The frightened soldiers fired into the crowd killing five and wounding six colonists. Governed Thomas Hutchinson tried to calm things by having the nine soldiers arrested and tried for murder. John Adams defended them and only two soldiers were convicted, the others got branded. -
The Tea Act
The Tea act was intended to help out the British East India Company, one of Britain's most important company's. For many years the company made money by growing tea in India and then selling it to British colonies. The colonial boycotts seriously hurt the company. Even though the tea was lowered in price colonial leaders argued that they still had to pay tax on tea. They also acted angrily because part of the act gave the company a monopoly, which is control of market for a certain product. -
Boston Tea Party
A group of colonists called the Sons of Liberty organized in port cities to stop tea from being unloaded. They threatened ship captains who were bringing the tea, and merchants that would buy the tea. No tea was unloaded in any port except Boston's port. For more than two weeks feelings were very tense in Boston. On the night of December 16th a large crowd disguised as Native Americans threw 342 cases of tea into the harbor. The raiders destroyed 90,000 lbs of tea worth thousands of dollars. -
The Intolerable Act
The Boston Tea party outraged the British government. In response of the incident Parliament passed 4 laws. The first was that they closed Bostons port. Two others increased the powers of royal governor, and abolished the upper house of Massachusetts legislature. The fourth strengthened the 1765 Quartering Act. The parliament also passed the Quebec Act which set up government land taken from France in 1763. Also, New boundaries blocked colonist from moving West. -
The First Continental Congress
13 colonies sent delegates except Georgia. The congress demanded the repeal, or official end of the Intolerable Acts and declared that all colonies had the right to tax and govern themselves. It also called for training of the malitias to stand up to British troops if necessary. The congress demanded the repeal of The Intolerable acts. The congress also called for a new boycott of British goods. At the end they then voted to meet again in May 1775 if its demands werent met. -
The Battle of Lexington and Concord
General Thomas Gage learned that minutemen were storing arms in concord about 20 miles away from Boston. He sent 700 troops to sieze the arms and capture important leaders. Two men, Paul Revere and William Daves rode in the night to warn the minutemen. When the British arrived the minutemen were waiting and refused to leave. No one knows who made the first shot. Nearby Concord was another battle. By the time British reached Boston almost 300 were wounded or killed. -
Battle for Fort Ticonderoga
Leading the force was Ethan Allen. His force were known as the Green Mountain boys. They reached the fort by crossing lake Champlain at night. Only 42 troops guarded the fort, and they surrendered almost immediately. Fort Ticonderoga was important because it controlled the main route between Canada and The Hudson River Valley. Also it held weapons, especially cannons. Later those cannons were moved to Boston, where George Washington used them to drive the British from the city. -
The Second Continental Congress
After battles in Lexington and Concord most colonists still didn't favor in Independence. The congress at first didn't know what to do. Nearly all delegates felt they needed to prepare for war. The first step was to form an army. They also to steps to pay for the army by printing paper money. The congress chose to have George Washington as commander of the newely founded Continental Congress -
Battles of Bunker and Breeds Hill
The American commander Israel Putnam knew his troops didn't have much ammunition. The Americans waited until the soldiers were 150ft away to shoot. When they open fired hundreds of British soldiers fell. All of British attacks failed except one, only because Americans ran out of ammunition. When Washington arrived he took charge of the army. He used his cannons to drive the British from Boston. Although The Americans won in Boston Washington knew the war was far from over. -
Olive Branch Petition
Even months after Lexington and Concord, delegates hoped that peace could be restored between Britain and The Americas. One of the first was called the Olive Branch Petition. It states that colonist were loyal to the king. The petition got its name from the olive branch a symbol of peace. The effort to make peace failed. The king didn't bother to read the petition but instead he declared the colonies were "in open rebellion". Parliament voted to send 20,000 soldiers to end the revolt. -
The British withdrawal from Boston
While Washington was training one army outside of Boston, two other American armies were moving North to Canada. One led by Richard Montgomery, from Fort Ticonderoga. The other led by Benedict Arnold, moved through Maine. Arnold journey was terrible traveling through Maine's woods. His troops were forced to boil candles, bark, and shoe leather in the winter for food. -
Invasion of Quebec
The Americans attacked Quebec during a severe snowstorm. The attack was turned back. Mountgomery was killed and Arnold was wounded. The Americans waited outside Quebec until May 1776, when the British landed new forces in Canada. Weakened by disease and hunger, the Americans withdrew, leaving Canada to the British.