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The French and Indian War
The final Colonial War (1689-1763) was the French and Indian War, which is the name given to the American theater of a massive conflict involving Austria, England, France, Great Britain, Prussia, and Sweden called the Seven Years War. -
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Road to Revolution
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Proclamation of1763
The end of the French and Indian War in 1763 was a cause for great celebration in the colonies, for it removed several ominous barriers and opened up a host of new opportunities for the colonists. -
The Sugar Act
On April 5, 1764, Parliament passed a modified version of the Sugar and Molasses Act (1733), which was about to expire. Under the Molasses Act colonial merchants had been required to pay a tax of six pence per gallon on the importation of foreign molasses. But because of corruption, they mostly evaded the taxes and undercut the intention of the tax — that the English product would be cheaper than that from the French West Indies. -
Stamp Act
Tensions between Britain and the colonists grew after after Britain passed the Stamp Actof 1765. Colonial newspapers, legal documents, and many other printed materials had to be stamped to show a tax was paid. -
Townshqend Acts are passed
After the uproar over the Stamp Act, Britain hoped to avoid futher conflict. Even so, it still needed to raise money to pay for troops and other expenses in america.So in 1767, Parliament passed his plan, known as the Townshend Acts. -
The Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was a street fight that occurred on March 5, 1770, between a "patriot" mob, throwing snowballs, stones, and sticks, and a squad of British soldiers. Several colonists were killed and this led to a campaign by speech-writers to rouse the ire of the citizenry. -
The Intolerable Acts
British merchants had lost huge sums of money on looted, spoiled, and destroyed goods shipped to the colonies. The revenue generated by the Townshend duties, in 1770, amounted to less than £21,000. On March 5, 1770, Parliament repealed the duties, except for the one on tea. That same day, the Boston massacre set a course that would lead the Royal Governor to evacuate the occupying army from Boston, and would soon bring the revolution to armed rebellion throughout the colonies.
