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The Treaty of Paris ended the French and Indian War/Seven Years' War between Great Britain and France, as well as their respective allies.
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The Currency Act prohibited colonial governments from issuing paper money and required all taxes and debts to British merchants to be paid in British currency.
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The repeal of the Stamp Act did not mean that Great Britain was surrendering any control over its colonies. The Declaratory Act, passed by Parliament on the same day the Stamp Act was repealed, stated that Parliament could make laws binding the American colonies.
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Charles Townshend, imposed new duties on imports of glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea to the colonies. The Townshend Acts also expanded the customs service. Revenue from the acts paid the salaries of colonial governors and judges and prevented colonial legislatures from exercising the power of the purse over these officials.
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Parliament passed the Tea Act that authorized the East India Company to bypass American wholesalers and sell tea directly to American distributors. Cutting out the wholesalers' profit would make English tea cheaper than tea smuggled in from Holland. Colonists in Boston, disguised as Indians, boarded three vessels and dumped 342 canisters of British tea into Boston harbor.
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The Quebec Act enlarged French Quebec to cover the area as far west as the Mississippi River and as far south as the Ohio River. French law prevailed in this area and the Catholic Church would have a privileged status there.
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In May, the second Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia and appoints George Washington commander-in-chief.