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George III
Upon the death of his Grandfather, King George II, George III became the king of England. -
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King George the III Reigns
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Treaty of Paris
George III promise to end The French and Indian war that was going on with France. Accomplishing this by signing the Treaty of Paris. -
Pontiac's Rebellion
British farmers and other settlers moved into the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes displacing the French and ending the flow of trade with the Indians. Ottawa, Huron, Potawatomi, and other Indians in the Great Lakes Region rebelled against the British and destroyed many British Forts and scaring settlers back to the coast. -
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George Grenville's Prime Ministry
Became Prime Minister. British people were heavily taxed and Grenville added more taxes to the colonies. This angered colonists. Was forced from power in 1765 due to unpopular taxes in the colony. -
Proclamation of 1763
Because of Pontiac's Rebellion, King George III closed the region west of the Appalachians to settlement by all colonists. Placed under the control of the British Military. -
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Peace Treaties
Britian signed peace treaties with the Indian groups and settlers resumed moving west, despite Proclamation of 1763. This undermined British authority in America. -
Sugar Act of 1764
Grenville lowered tax on sugar and molasses in hopes that Americans would buy more from Britain and smuggle illegally less. -
Quartering Act
Another of Grenville's policies was to make colonists provide housing and supplies for British troops. -
Stamp Act
First time that Britain taxed colonies to make money. Grenville taxed newspapers, legal documents, pamphlets and most other printed materials. Grenville made colonists distribute the proclamation in hope that it would lessen blame on him. -
Stamp Act Congress
Orgainized by James Otis who said "no taxation without representation". The main goal of the Congress was to protest Britain's Taxes. Called for colonists to arm themselves and form militias. -
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Sons of Liberty
Groups sprang up to boycott taxes and resist British policies. Many groups were boycotting, yet the Boston group was most active. Samuel Adams was their founder. -
Stamp Act Repealed
Colonists celebrated wildly. However, British Parliament passed the Declaratory Act. This act said that Parliament was legally allowed to pass laws for the colonies without the colonies being represented. -
Townshend Act
Placed duties rather than taxes on imported goods and was supposed to raise money for Colonial Civil Government. Protest and violence began. -
Boston Massacre
Unruly Boston crowd threatened a squad of British soldiers. Soldiers open fired on crowd, leaving five Bostonites dead. Eight soldiers and an British Officer were arrested and charged with murder, seven were found not guilty and two were charged with lesser crimes. All were released. Soon after, Parliament canceled taxes on everything but tea. -
Tea Act
The colonists had been smuggling tea and in hopes to quell this streak, the act gave the British East India Company the right to sell tea without tax. This act lowered the British East India Companies prices below the smuggled tea prices, driving the smugglers out of business. -
Boston Tea Party
Colonists denied British Ships. Colonists disguised as Indians and went onto a British ship in Boston. There they broke open all tea and poured it into the harbor. -
Intoreable Acts
Legally called the Coercive acts. Town meetings were limited to once a year; the Massachusetts Court was suspended. These were nicknamed the Intolerable Acts. Another act pushed Canada’s boundary to the western lands, giving up the Colonists claims. This also angered the colonists greatly. General Thomas Gage, leader of the British armies, was named governor of Massachusetts. Although all of these acts were not all under the Coercive Acts, they were all lumped together. -
First Continental Congress
Formed in response to the Intolerable Acts. First Continental Congress adopted several new responses. They stopped buying English goods, they created new boycott schemes, and they called for Colonist to arm themselves. Also, they made a direct appeal to the King, hoping for the repeal of certain laws and to convince him of his wrongdoing. -
The Start of a Revolution
800 British troops move from Boston to Concord with orders to seize supplies. However, Boston Patriots sent Paul Revere, William Dawes, Dr. Samuel Prescott on horseback to surrounding to alert the countryside. -
Fighting at Lexington
British troops reach Lexington. They encountered 70 minutemen and told them to throw down their arms. Minutemen were complying, then someone shot into the British troops starting the conflict. (Known as the shot heard around the world) Afterwards, they continued onto Concord, where they destroyed stockpiles. -
Fighting at Concord
Patriots were wise and hid much of their stockpile. As the British were returning, 4,000 patriots gathered on the road to Boston and shot at them from behind cover. The fighting at both Lexington and Concord ignited the Revolutionary War.
