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Proclamation of 1763
The Proclamation of 1763 was put in place at the end of the French and Indian war by the British, who controlled a lot of land in North America. East Florida, West Florida, and Granada then became provinces of Quebec. The Proclamation of 1763 would not allow settlers to settle west of the Appalachian Mountains. Stopping settlement in the western lands produced advantages for Britain including the fact that British government could control westward movement and the westward expansion was orderly. -
Sugar Act
This act lowered taxes on molasses that was imported by the colonists in hopes that instead of smuggling goods, the colonists would just pay the lower taxes. The control on smuggling made the colonists really mad and they believed that their rights were being violated. -
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act put a tax on almost every printed thing in the colony. All printed things had to have a stamp on them which had to be put on it by British Officials. A lot of things in the colonies were taxed, so everyone in the colony was affected. A few colonists decided that they needed to take action. -
Repealing of the Stamp Act
In 1766, Parliament finally surrendered to the demands of the colonists and they repealed the Stamp Act. Even after repealing the Stamp Act, the king and parliament never gained back the full trust of the colonists. The Parliament passed another act on the same day, while colonists were still celebrating getting the Stamp Act repealed, the Declaratory Act. This Act stated that Parliament could tax and make choices for British colonies. -
Townshend Acts
The Townshend Acts are a set of laws that were established be Parliament in 1767. Using these acts, British leaders were trying to avoid problems that the Stamp Act caused. The British knew that the colonists would not allow internal taxes. The new taxes that leaders established were on imported goods. These Acts did not help because most imported goods were everday items so the colonists were still outraged. -
Boston Massacre
On this day, tension between the Boston Colonists and the Redcoats finally reached it's highest point. A fight broke out between the colonists and the soldiers. The colonists got any weapons they could find and pushed on towards the customshouse on King Street. The colonists reached the customshouse and a sentry called for backup. Colonists started throwing rocks and other things. The Redcoats started firing and ended up killing five colonists. That is why it is called the "Boston Massacre". -
Samuel Adams Sets Up a Commitee of Correspondance
After the Boston Massacre, Samuel Adams put up posters that described it, saying things like it was "a slaughter of innocent Americans by bloodthirsty Redcoats". Paul Revere posted an engraving showing a British officer giving the command to fire against an orderly crowd. Parliament got rid of all Townshend Acts except for the one in tea. Some colonial leaders still took it further and Samuel Adams brought back the Boston Commitee of Corresprondance, a group that was used in early protests. -
Boston Tea Party
In 1773, some Bostinians dressed up as indians and raided British ships docked in the harbor. After raiding the ships, the Bostinians dumped hundreds of chests of tea in the harbor as a protest against tax on tea. -
First Continental Congress Meets
The colonists called this meeting to discuss a united American resistance to the British. The colonists were not happy about taxes and the British trying to control everything so they were trying to come uo with a plan to stand up to the King. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord signalled the start of the American Revolutionary War. The Battle of Lexington was very small. Neither the American nor the British expected to fight, but shots did go off in some confusion. The Battle of Concord was after the Americans fled from Lexington. The British marched to Concord and met little resistance when they got there. The Americans, who had been hiding in the outskirts of Concord, crossed back into Concord and deafeated the British troops