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1772 BCE
The Gaspee Affair of 1772
Under the leadership of John Brown, Rhode Island colonists burned down British revenue ship The Gaspee. -
The Rhode Island Royal Charter
This was a document giving English royal recognition to the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, providing a foundation for the government, and outlining broad freedoms for the inhabitants of that colony. -
Jamestown Incorperation Date: 1678
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Period: to
John Eldred 1712-1784
John Eldred of Jamestown, RI took an old British cannon and fired it at a British warship terrorising Narragansett Bay. The cannonball hit and the warship thought that it was a militia firing. (A militia is a small army made up of citizens) -
Ben Franklin Draws Symbolistic Drawings of The Revolutionary War
His picture shown below has all of the states in a cut snake saying ¨Join or Die¨. Do you know what it means? -
The Proclamation Line Act of 1763
Great Britain says to colonists that they cannot go over the Ohio River Valley, which is west of the Appilachian Mountains. -
Stamp Act of 1765
This act required colonists to pay for an official stamp or seal, when they bought paper items. -
The Sons of Liberty of 1765
Orginised by New England colonists to enforce colonial measures in opposition to Parliamentary laws placed on the colonists by the British. Tried to force Parliament to repeal measures passed to govern colonies. -
The Boston Massacre of 1770
British troops fired on a mob in the streets of Boston. The mob was protesting the presence of British troops in the city. The troops had been in the city since 1768. Five Bostonians were killed. -
The Boston Tea Party of 1773
Colonists disguised themselves as Mohawk Indians and went to Boston Harbor, boarded a ship, and then dumped tea crates into the ocean. Later they were caught. -
The Intolerable Acts of 1765-1774
The Intolerable Acts were created to punish Massachusetts colonists for the Boston Tea Party. These acts included the closing of Boston Harbor, Mass. Government Act, Administration of Justice Act, Quartering Act, and Quebec Act. -
First Continental Congress
First Continental Congress Delegates from all colonies except Georgia met to discuss problems with Britain and to promote independence. -
Second Continental Congress
Convened in May 1775, the Congress opposed the drastic move toward complete independence from Britain. In an effort to reach a reconciliation, the Congress offered peace under the conditions that there be a cease-fire in Boston, that the Coercive Acts be repealed, and that negotiations begin immediately. King George III rejected the petition. -
The Katy (Later The Providence) Captures British Ship Diana
Three days later the ship Katy, under the command of Captain Whipple, Commodore of the Rhode Island Navy, did capture the British warship Diana. The Katy later became the first US warship. -
The Burning of Jamestown
British troops and dozens of hessians ready to kill marched into town in Jamestown and burnt every home but two. Most people were killed. A hessian is like a mercenary. -
Declaration of Independance
Document stating that the thirteen colonies were free from Great Britain and the King -
Battle of Rhode Island
Continental Army and militia forces under the command of General John Sullivan were withdrawing to the northern part of Aquidneck Island after abandoning their siege of Newport, Rhode Island, when the British forces in Newport sortied, supported by recently arrived Royal Navy ships, and attacked the retreating Americans. The battle ended inconclusively, but the Continental forces afterward withdrew to the mainland, leaving Aquidneck Island in British hands. -
The Treaty of Paris (1783)
This very important document outlined the terms of the British surrender. This ended the American Revolution. -
Ratafication of The Constitution
When a bill of rights was proposed in Congress in 1789, North Carolina ratified the Constitution. Finally, Rhode Island, which had rejected the Constitution in March 1788 by popular referendum, called a ratifying convention in 1790 as specified by the Constitutional Convention.
