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George Grenville Becomes Prime Minister of Great Britain
George Grenville was elected Prime Minister in 1763. His goal was to lower Britain's debt and to increase incoming profit (he passed the Sugar Act) -
Proclamation of 1763
Was issued by Great Britain after their victory in the French and Indian War. It's purpose was to limit the settlement of the territory that they gained control over. -
Sugar Act Passed by British Parliament
The British wanted to lower their debt and gain new revenue, but the smuggling in the colonies was making this difficult. The Sugar Act lowered the tax on molasses imported by the colonists in an attempt to lower smuggling rates. -
Britiah Parliament Passed Stamp Act
This act was passed in 1765 to bring in profit for Great Britain. It placed a tax on nearly all paper goods like newspapers, playing cards, and pamphlets. It angered the colonists and they believed that their rights as Englishmen were being violated. -
Parliament Repeals Stamp Act
Delegates from 9 different colonies drafted a petition the demanded that the tax be removed in October of 1765. In March 1766, Parliament gave in to the colonists' wished and repealed the Stamp Act. -
Declaratory Act Passed by Parliament
On the same day that the Stamp Act was repealed, Parliament passed another act that said that they had the right to tax the colonists and to make decisions for the colonies no matter what. -
Parliament Passed Townshend Acts
In an effort to prevent another crisis and still turn a profit Parliament passed the Townshend Acts. The Townshend Acts placed taxes on imported goods. The bad part is that the tax applied to basic goods like paper, lead, tea, and glass (colonists couldn't produce these items). -
Boston Massacre
Angered by the arrival of the british army, called redcoats because of their bright red uniforms, colonists struck out against them in violent protest. They all rioted towards the customhouse (where the redcoats were) and picked up anything that could be used as a weapon along the way. Colonists were shouting at the redcoats, taunting them and demanding them to leave. After the colonists knocked down one of the redcoats, the british troops opened fire. -
Boston Committee of Correspondence Revived
Even though Parliament repealed all taxes enacted by Townshend Acts except for tea, the colonists were still very agitated. Samuel Adams revived the Boston Committee of Correspondence in 1772 to oppose British rule. After this, many more committees were set up in the thirteen colonies. -
Tea Act of 1773 Passed by Pariament
The British East India Company was failing and in ruin. To keep it running, Parliament passed the Tea Act of 1773. This act gave the East India Company the ability to ship tea into the colonies without paying most of the normal taxes. It also allowed them to sell tea directly to colonial shopkeepers at a low cost. This gave the company an advantage because it's tea was cheaper. -
Boston Tea Party
Colonists were enraged by the Tea Act of 1773. On December 16th, 1773, three ships containing chests of tea came into Boston Harbor. The royal governor would not let the three ships leave and he ordered the tea on the ships to be unloaded. The Boston Sons of Liberty and Samuel Adams disguised themselves as Mohawk Indians and boarded the ships. At midnight, they all threw a total of 342 chests of British Tea overboard. -
Coercive Acts/Quebec Act Passed
Once news of the happening at Boston Harbor reached King George III, he got Parliament to put harsh laws into place to punish colonists in Massachusetts This first act was called the Coercive Acts. It closed down Boston Harbor until the citizens of Massachusetts paid for the tea that they ruined. It also forced the Boston citizens to give shelter to British troops. The second act was the Quebec Act that enraged the colonists even more. It established a permanent government in Quebec. -
First Continental Congress Meets
55 men, sent as delegates from all colonies except Georgia, meet in Philadelphia to find ways to show their opposition against British policies. They all had different views, but they worked together. They drafted their grevances that gave reasons for 13 acts to be repealed, like how they believed that all of them violated their rights. -
Fighting at Lexington and Concord
In Lexington, about 70 minutemen waited for the redcoats after being alerted by Paul Revere and William Dawes. They positioned themselves with muskets in the center of the town. The fighting ended up killing 8 minutemen.