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Treaty of 1763
The Treaty of 1763 was a peace treaty signed in Paris that brought an end to the Seven Years war that was fought between England and her allies, and France and Spain and their allies. This treaty ended the conflict, and required Spain to give up their colonial claims in Florida, and for France to surrender Canada to the British. This resulted in a large power shift in North America leaving Britain as the dominant world power. -
Pontiac's Rebellion
The Treaty of 1763 took away the Native American's ability to play off of the European powers, leaving them in a weak situation. Chief Pontiac of the Ottowa tribe knew this, so he led a violent assault on the British in order to drive them from the Ohio Country. He destroyed all but three British settlements west of the Appalachians before the British crushed the uprising by infecting native populations with smallpox. This left the door open for colonists to spread west. -
Proclamation of 1763
After Pontiac's rebellion, many colonists planned to flood over the Appalachians seeking land that they fought to gain in the recent wars. However the British government issued the Proclamation of 1763 which prohibited settlement west of the Appalachians. This was intended to be fair to the Indians to prevent another rebellion, but the colonists saw it as oppressive and traveled westward despite the new rules. This caused tensions to be high between the colonies and their Lordly rulers. -
British Mercantilism
After the Seven Years War, Britain was greatly in debt. They thought it was fair that the colonies should be taxed to help pay the debt, because the war was fought in their defense. Prime Minister Grenville began enforcing the Navigation Laws (making colonies trade only with Britain) and enacted the Sugar Act, which placed a tax on Sugar from the West Indies. He also created the Quartering Act, which made colonies provide food and shelter for British soldiers. These acts caused much resentment. -
The Stamp Act
Grenville also imposed the Stamp Act, which taxed many common goods, and required stamps to be placed on goods as proof of payment of tax. This outraged the colonies who thought it to be unfair that a government across the ocean could tax them without allowing them to represent themselves in Parliament. In response the colonies began protesting and making non importation agreements that crippled the British economy. Eventually all of the stamp agents resigned, and Parliament repealed the act. -
Townshend Acts
Charley Townshend, a British politician, convinced Parliament to enact the Townshend Acts, which applied a light tax to several common items, mainly tea. The colonists were troubled by the fact that they were being taxed without representation in Parliament, and felt that they were being enchained. Many smugglers began smuggling tea into the country, and British officials sent two regiments of soldiers to get the situation under control. This decision ultimately led to further strife. -
Boston Massacre
The citizens of Boston resented the British soldiers that were placed in Boston to maintain order, and several clashes occurred during protests about the Townshend acts. A mob of 60 Bostonians were enraged by the murder of an 11 year old boy during a protest, so they began throwing snowballs at a squad of British soldiers. These soldiers panicked and opened fire on the crowd, killing or wounding eleven citizens. This event further enraged the colonists. -
Boston Tea Party
The British East India Company was allowed a monopoly on tea in America, and began providing tea for a much lower price. The colonists saw this as a way to distract them from the tea tax issued from the Townshend Acts, and most colonies would force the cargo ships back to Britain without unloading. However the East India Companies' ships refused to leave Boston, so around one hundred Bostonians dressed up as Indians and dumped 342 chests of tea into the harbor. This led to the "Intolerable Acts" -
The Intolerable Acts
After the Boston Tea Party, Parliament passed several acts to punish Massachusetts. The foremost was the Boston Port Act which completely shut down the Port until all damages were paid. Other acts included the Quartering Act, which gave authorities the ability to lodge British soldiers in private homes, and the Quebec Act which extended the borders of Quebec for the French-Americans -
The First Continental Congress
After the Intolerable Acts were issued, a meeting was called to discuss solutions and courses of action. This meeting was called the Continental Congress, and it met in Philadelphia. Many of America's "founding fathers" were there and led the meeting. They met for seven weeks, and many men, especially John Adams, pushed for revolution. They ended up creating a Declaration of Rights, and several appeals all to be presented to England. They also created "The Association", a boycott on British good -
Lexington and Concord
After the Continental Congress' petitions were rejected by Parliament, tensions ran high in America, and men began to train and prepare for war. War broke out in 1775 when the British commander in Boston sent troops to squash rebellion in Lexington where they killed eight Americans. The British then pushed on to Concord, where the Americans assaulted them and killed about three hundred British soldiers, forcing them into retreat. War had broken out.
