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French and Indian War
In 1753, the French began to build forts to back their claim to the land between Lake Erie and the Ohio River. The governor decided to sent soldiers to order the French to leave. George Washington made the dangerous journey, returning home to tell the governor that the French had rejected his warning. Learning that a party of French were looking for him, Washington decided to intercept them. He and his troops along wth some Indian allies, attacked and defeated the French. -
Treaty Of Paris
After losing Quebec, the French could no longer defend the rest of its North American territory. Montreal, the other major French city fell in 1760. February 1763, Britain ad France signed the Treaty of Paris. France almost lost all of its North American possessions. Great Britain took the French's North America land/territory east of Mississippi with the exceptions of New Orleans. Britain also received Spanish Florida. -
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Pontiac's War
Pontiac and his allies attacked British forts and settlements throughout the area. Nearly half a dozen western British forts were destroyed and at least 2,000 backcountry settlers were killed. British settlers reacted with equal viciousness. They killed Native Americans who had not attacked them. The British finally defeated Pontiac's forces in the early August at a battle near Fort Pitt. Pontiac continued to fight for another year. -
The Proclamation of 1763
Britain wanted to avoid further wars with Native Americans on the frontier. Therefore, the British government issued the Proclamation of 1763. It banned colonial settlement west of a line drawn along the Appalachian Mountains. Settlers were told they had to move to a location east of that line. The Proclamation of 1763 angered many colonists who believed they had to reside wherever they wanted. The proclamation was widely ignored. -
The Quartering Act
One year later, Parliament passed the Quartering Act. The purpose of the Quartering Act was to save money. To enforce the Proclamation of 1763, Britain kept about 10,000 soldiers in the colonies, The act required colonists to quarter, or house, British troops and provide them with food and other supplies. The colonists protested angrily. Once again, the colonists complained that Parliment was violating their rights. -
Sugar Act
The British effort to impose new taxes on the colonies began in 1764 when Parliament passed the Sugar Act, which put a duty or import tax on several products, including molasses. It also called for harsh punishment of smugglers. Colonial merchants who sometimes traded in smuggled goods, protested. -
The Stamp Act
An even more unpopular law was the Stamp Act, passed by Parliament in early 1765. The Stamp Act required that all people special tax stamps for all products and activities. The stamps had to be placed on newspapers, wills, licenses, insurance policies, land titles, contracts, and other documents. Protests against the Stamp Act widely spread throughout Virginia. -
The Boston Massacre
Once again, the protests worked. The boycott hurt British merchants and manufacturers, who put Parliament on pressure. On March 5th 1770, Parliament repealed all the Townshend duties-except the one on tea. That tax was left in force to demonstrate Parliament's right to tax the colonies. On March 5th 1770, in Boston, an angry crowd of sailors and workers surrounded a small group of soldiers. The shouted at the soldiers and threw snowballs and rocks at them. The soldiers killed five and hurt six. -
The Tea Act
In 1773, the British Parliament passed the Tea Act. It was intended to help the British East India Company, one of Britain's most important companies. For many years, the company had made money growing tea in the colonial boycott of tea seriously hurt the company. The Tea Act actually lowered the price of tea by allowing the East India Company to ship tea directly to the colonies. Prior to the Tea Act, the tea first had to be shipped to Britain. -
The Boston Tea Party
A group of colonists called the Sons of Liberty soon organized in port cities to stop the East India Company tea from being unloaded. They threatened ship captains who were bringing in tea and colonial tea merchants who said they would buy it. No tea was unloaded in New York, Philadelphia, or other ports. For more than two weeks, feelings were tense in Boston. Finally, on the night of December 16, 1773 a large crowd gathered in the harbor, They threw 342 cases of tea into the harbor. -
First Continental Congress
The meeting took place in Philadelphia in September and October 1774. Twelve of 13 colonies sent delegates. Only Georgia did not send representatives. Among the delegates were John Adams and Samuel Adams from Massachusetts, John Jay of New York and George Washington ad Patrick Henry from Virginia. -
Intolerable Acts
The Boston Tea Party outraged the British government. King George III called for tough action to make examples of the people of Boston and Massachusetts. In response to the incident, Parliament passed four laws. These laws were so harsh that the colonists called them the Intolerable Acts. The first act closed the port of Boston, Two others increased the powers of the royal governor, abolished the upper house of the Massachusetts legislature, and the last one strengthened the Quartering Act. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
Five miles from Concord in the town of Lexington, about 77 minutemen were waiting when the British arrived. The British commander ordered the minutemen to go home. They refused. Suddenly, a shot rang out. Nobody knows who fired it, but it turned out to be the first sot of the American Revolution. The British opened fire, killing 8 Americans. A larger battle took place nearby Concord. This time, 400 minutemen fought the British, killing 3 of them. -
The Second Continental Congress
Even after the battles of Lexington and Concord, most of the colonists still did not favor independence. At the same time, many of them were ready to use force, if necessary, to defend their rights. -
Battle for Fort Ticonderoga
On May 10, 1775, the same day the Continental Congress began meeting, an important battle took place in northern New York. A daring band of colonists made a surprise attack on Fort Ticonderoga. The fort stood at the southern end of Lake Champlain and protected the water route to Canada. Leading the force was Ethan Allen, a blacksmith. Most of his followers came from the nearby Green Mountains of today's Vermont. Because of that, they were known as the Green Mountain Boys. -
Olive Branch Petition
Even months after Lexington and Concord, many delegates at the Second Continental Congress hoped that peace could be restored between Britain and its American colonies. Two resolutions passed in July showed the uncertainty of Congress. The first resolution was called the Olive Branch Petition and was sent to King George. The petition stated that the colonists were loyal to the king. It asked George to stop the fighting so all disputes between the colonists and Britain could be solved peacefully. -
Battles of Bunker and Breeds Hill
The Americans surrounding Boston were farmers and workers, not trained soldiers. Nobody knew if they would stand and fight against tough British troops. British General William Howe decided to attack straight up Breed's Hill. More than 1,000 were killed or wounded and 400 Americans were killed or wounded. The fighting, called the Battle of Bunker Hill, did not solve Britain's problem. Boston still was surrounded by American forces. -
Invasion on Qubec
While Washington was training one army outside Boston, two other American armies were moving north into Canada. One led by Richard Montgomery, left from Fort Ticonderoga. The other led by Benedict Arnold from Maine. -
The British withdrawal from Boston
In March, Washington placed the cannons on high ground over-looking Boston. The British could no longer defend the city. On March 17, 1776, they withdrew from Boston by sea and never returned. Although the Americans won in Boston, Washington knew that the war was far from over. Britain still held the most powerful navy in the world. They used it to transport troops and supplies and to blockade American ports -
Albany Congress
The British wanted the colonies to agree and cooperate in defending themselves against the French. They hoped to form an alliance with the Iroquois against the French. The Iroquois refused to make an alliance, in part because they expected the French to defeat the British in the war. The colonial leaders tried to work on a plan to defend themselves. This event started on June 19 1754 and ended on July 11 1754.