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The Proclamation of 1763
The reason that this Proclamation was issued is because Great Britain did not want to disturb or anger the Indians and start another war. Britain was heavily in debt and they could not afford to pay for another war. Therefore this Proclamation prohibited the colonists from moving westward past the Appalachian mountains where the Indians lived. -
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Acts Passed by Parliament
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The Currency Act
This act prevented any paper bills of credit, in other words: short term public loans to the government. The colonists were already short on physical currency, but taking out the only other chance they had to pay (bills of credit) meant they would have extreme difficulty buying the simplest things. -
The Sugar Act
This act prohibited the importation of rum (alcohol). Parliament also placed taxes on molasses, wines, silks, coffee and luxury items. With this act also came military officials who would arrest anyone trying to smuggle products. This also affected merchants who could not sell with such prices. -
The Quartering Act
This act required the colonies to provide the royal troops with food and shelter. This act was passed because from now on royal troops would be needed to supervise the people who would smuggle products. -
The Stamp Act
This act required newspapers, licenses, grants, bills, pamphlets and other official documents to have a printed stamp. These stamps were obviously going to generate revenue from the people. Then, this money would be used to protect and defend the colonies. -
The Declaratory Act
Parliament stated that Britain and the colonies were taxed the same, which meant that the colonies were still under the power of the mother country. This gave Parliament the power to continue to make laws for the colonies "in all cases whatsoever". -
Townshend Acts
Charles Townshend was a British politician who was also part of the British Parliament. He had the idea to impose payments on the colonies for the following: paper, glass, lead, paint and tea from Britain. The bases for this was that the goods that were imported by the colonies were legal and that it would help maintain the army in North America. -
Townshend Act Repeal
After facing boycotts, smugglers, protesters, and even the Boston Massacre, Parliament decides to repeal the Townshend Acts.The only product that continues being taxed is tea. -
The Boston Massacre
The Townshend Acts are what provoked this incident. When the custom officials went to collect duties or the payment, they received much hatred from the colonists, especially in Boston. Therefore, two British units or regiments were sent to protect the officials. Then, what started with snowballing ended with shooting and three people died. Even though this was proof of what could happen to rebels, the colonists continued to fight. -
The Boston Tea Party
Great Britain granted the East India Company a monopoly on all tea that was exported to the colonies and allowed them to situate retailers directly in the colonies. The colonial merchants made money off of smuggling, so when the East India Company started selling at a better price, local merchants lost a lot of money. In Boston, the opposition was more intense. Samuel Adams men disguised themselves as Mohawk Indians and dumped the tea cargo off of three British ships in Boston harbor. -
Quebec Act
This act provided protection for roman catholic faith, but it specifically impacted the Canadian province. It was mostly passed for political reasons like ensuring loyalty from the French Canadians. This document reflects the principle of religious freedom that would impact the First Amendment. It also extended the province south to the Ohio River and provided trials without jury's and did not have a representative assembly. -
Intolerable Acts (Boston Port Bill)
After the Boston Tea Party incident, the British Parliament passes this bill and closes the Port of Boston until the city's residents pay off all the tea that was dumped into the harbor. After passing out this bill, Parliament thought that it had reestablished it's control over the colonies, but really it caused the people to come together and oppose their sovereign. -
Intolerable Acts (Administration of Justice Act)
Because of the acts of the Bostonian's, Parliament passed this act that stated that the governor of Massachusetts had the power to move the trial to a completely different colony or even to Great Britain. The witnesses, if they wanted, would have to travel to that colony or Great Britain to testify. The Sons of Liberty became agitated by this act and began to protest against British rule. -
Intolerable Act (The Massachusetts Government Act)
This act repealed the colony's 1691 charter, this in turn ended the constitution, replaced the local council with one appointed by the crown, restricted the number of meetings and restricted the election of town officials. This act was passed by Parliament in order to punish the town's people for dumping all the tea. Parliament thought it had won this time, but the people slowly unified against Britain. -
First Continental Congress
Colonial representatives met in Philadelphia “to consult upon the present unhappy state of the Colonies .” They came to be known as the First Continental Congress, there was a total number of 55 delegates (except Georgia).
