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French And Indian war
The French and Indian war was between the France and Great Britain It started because both countries claimed land in the same place. The Native Americans sided with both the French and the British. Different Indian tribes sided with each country. The French lost and the British gained control North America. The British colonists were able to expand their settlements. -
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French and Indian war
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Stamp act
British government declared that colonist must pay a tax on paper products and official documents. The colonist believed it was very unfair. Too many things were being taxed and they had no say in the matter. They had no representation in Parliament where all these taxes were being created. Some wanted to boycott. In 1766 the tax was repealed, but the tax on tea remained. The colonist remained angry. -
The Boston Massacre
The colonist continued to protest. A large mob circled unsuspecting British soldiers provoking them, yelling and throwing rocks and sticks. The soldiers panicked and opened fire on the crowd killing five people. Citizens were angry. To calm the colonist the soldiers were put on trial and found guilty. Future American President, John Adams defended them at the trial. -
Boston tea party
Many taxes have now been repealed except for the tax on tea. People in protest refused to drink tea so that none would be sold. A group called “Sons of Liberty” snuck onto a ship at port and dumped 342 casts of tea into Boston Harbor. This was thousands of dollars of tea. The citizens cheered the rebels on while they dumped the tea. It further united the colonist in their effort to be independent. -
Intolerable Acts
King George was furious at the damage done by the Boston Tea Party. King George proclaimed a new set of laws to punish the colonist. They were so bad they were called “Intolerable Acts.” The acts gave the royal governor more power, and closed the ports of Boston until the tea was paid off. Also, the citizens were limited to one town meeting a year. Congress demanded the acts to be reversed and started another boycott. They organized the First Continental Congress to coordinate a protest. -
Battle at Bunker Hill
The battle was over a small hill in Boston. It was a fight between the experienced British soldiers and the unorganized colonist fighters. It took the British three attempts and over three days to gain control of the hill. Even though the British won, they suffered many causalities. The battle demonstrated that the inexperienced colonial forces were willing and able to stand up to regular experienced army troops and could put up a good fight. Brittish now saw that theey can fight. -
Delclaration of independence sighned
The Continental Congress wrote this document to declare individual rights. England had been treating the colonies unfairly with taxes and laws for many years. The colonies now have a document to live by declaring them free of English rule. Britian of course, disagreed with this and war began. -
British capture New York
The British knew that New York was a good port for troops to use as a supply deposit. The British sailed up the rivers surrounding New York to capture it. New York was made up of loyalist (people who supported the king), so many citizens were happy to be captured. This now gave the British troops a base in America to work from. New York remained in British control till the end of the war. -
Battle of Trenton
General Washington and his troops crossed the Delaware River at 11pm on December 24th, Christmas Eve. It was very cold and many of the soldiers weren’t prepared for harsh conditions, some had no shoes. They arrived in Trenton. Commander Colonel Rahl had ignored the warning that the Americans were coming. The colonists attacked and won. Though there were many casualties the Americans were still encouraged. The victory made them think they were stronger than the British and they could win. -
American victory at Saratoga-turning point in war
The British General, John Burgoyne, had a plan to end the war. He would cut off New England from the rest of the colonies. He went to Saratoga because it was on a major river. Americans fought him and won. This marked a major turning point in the war because it ended the threat to New England. -
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hard winter in valley forge
Washington’s troop’s spent a hard winter in Valley Forge. The 11,000 soldiers were camping but were not properly clothes or sheltered. Many had no shoes, socks or pants. One-fourth of the troops were always sick with fever, chills or worse. The soldiers families were also suffering but General Washington didn’t let his men go home. During this difficult time the troops learned discipline and strategies for fighting. Valley Forge actually turned out to be a good thing for the Continental Army. -
France recognizes the united States
In 1778 France recognized the United States of America as a nation and signed a military alliance. France was happy to help anyone who wanted to fight Britain. French money, ammunition and soldiers helped America in the Revolutionary War. Benjamin Franklin was America’s ambassador to France. -
Spain enters war against Britain
Spain helped America throughout the war by sending military supplies. Spain had an alliance with the French against Britain. They used the American war as an opportunity to weaken the British Empire. -
batttle of Yorktown
The French and Continental Armies joined forces to fight and defeat Lord Cornwallis and his British troops in Yorktown, Virginia. After a long battle lasting many days, 7,000 British soldiers were captured and Cornwallis was forced to surrender. Negotiations then began to put an end to the war. -
Treaty Of Paris
The treaty of Paris is the agreement that the talks between America and France led up to. The new boundaries of the United States were set as the Atlantic on the east, Canada, the Mississippi river on west, and Florida on south. States restored the rights and properties of loyalist taken from them during the war. On April 15th 1783 congress approved he treaty, war was over. Exactly eight years of war.
