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French and Indian War Comes to an End.
In 1783, the Treaty of Paris was signed. This treaty stated that France lost all North American territory. Spain gained all territory West of the Mississippi River, and New Orleans. On the downside, Spain lost Florida to England. Along with Florida, England gained all French territory East of Mississippi and including Quebec. -
Sugar Act
The Sugar Acts were passed in 1764. They were basically a revived version of the Sugar and Molasses Acts, which required merchants to pay six pence for every gallon of foreign molasses imported. Under the sugar Act, this tax was cut to 3 pence per gallon and included other imports like sugar, certian wines,coffee, and a few more. This angered the colonists because they felt they were being taxed without being represtented by parlament (taxation without represtentation). -
The Stamp Act
This was a taxation on the colonies of British America by the British Parliament, it required that many printed materials in the colonies be produced on stamped paper produced in London. The purpose was to help pay for stationed troops in North America. This didn't last long, most of the tax collectors were intimidated into resigning. -
The Townshed Acts
These were a series of acts passed at the beginning in 1767 by the Parliament of Great Britain. The purpose of the Townshend Acts was to raise revenue in the colonies to pay the salaries of governors and judges so that they would be independent of colonial rule. Most of the new taxes were repealed, but the tax on tea was retained. -
The Boston Massacre
This incident occured on March 5, 1770 in which British soldiers killed five civilian men and injured six others. Prior to this there had been some tension between the population and the British army due to the Parlamentry legislation. A group of citicens formed around the British sentry that was protected by eight soldiers. The citizens started throwing snowballs and other objects at the British soldier and Private Hugh Montgomery was hit, leading him to discharge his rifle at the crowd. -
Tea Act
This act was set up to send East India Companys' overflowing supply of tea to the colonies, and sell it at lowest price possible. This ended in a few ways depending on the location. In some places they turned the ships back, other just left the tea on the decks to rot, and others held the ships in the ports but didnt allow them to unload. This is what really pushed the colonists to doing the Boston Tea Party. -
The Boston Tea Party
In response to the unpopular act, Governor Thomas Hutchinson ordered th colonists to act. Later, three ships filled with tea that were arriving at the Boston Harbor were to be invaded by about sixty men. The men were to dump the tea chests into the Harbor on the night of December 16, 1773. -
The Battle of Lexington and Concord
The first shots starting the revolution were fired at Lexington, Massachusetts. British General Thomas Gage sent 700 troops to destroy the colonist's guns and ammo that the British had stored in Concord. The British soldiers killed 8 Minutemen and injuring 10 others. -
Declaratory Acts
Declaration by the British Parliament that accompanied repeal of the Stamp Act. It stated that Parliament's authority was the same in America as in Britain and asserted Parliament's authority to make laws for the colonists. This made the colonists feel like they werent being treated equally like the people in England, and therefore angered them further. -
Intolerable Act
These were passed to punish Boston. The port in Boston was closed, all public meeting became illegal, and military was in Boston until the cost of all of the lost tea was paid off.This angered the colonists, so when the British left they knew when the British came back, the clolnists would make a move to fight back.
