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The Great Awakening and The Enlightenment
The Enlightenment was all about social reformation, the encouragement of individualism, and new political ideas. The Great Awakening was all about religious reformation and how religion was a much more personal and emotional experience. The two events focused so much on the individual and rejecting authority, that it led to the Colonists having ideas that they may run their land better than a Parliament which they felt didn't care about them. -
The French and Indian War
Also known as World War 0 due to the fighting being on multiple continents between many different countries, the main competitors were Britain and France, who were vying to be the more dominants global superpower. In the end, Britain would win, but they would also be broke. Because the war started in The Colonies, the taxes for the war would be placed on them. -
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Smuggling
Many of the acts put in place were to prohibit smuggling in the colonies. Mercantilism states that the Mother Country should be the only country her colonies should trade with. The Colonists, however, made most of their money off of smuggling. This was part of why the Colonists fought the taxes and acts. -
The Treaty of Paris
The signing of this treaty formally ended The 7 Years War. The Colonists were excited because this promised them more land to expand into, but that was not quite the case. -
Pontiacs Rebellion
Angered by the invasion of Colonists, the Odawa led by Chief Pontiac laid siege to modern-day Detroit. This worried the British who didn't want to deal with another Indian war, so this would lead to the Proclamation of 1763. -
Proclamation Line of 1763
This Proclamation kept Colonists from moving past a line drawn on the Appalachian Mountains. This angered Colonists who fought a war for the privilege to go past the mountains. This starts a pattern of the British trying to corral the Colonists who were used to being left alone through the policy of Salutary Neglect. They didn't want what they felt was a God-given right to be obstructed. -
The Stamp Act
Imposed on the colonists by parliament to pay for the Seven Years War, The Stamp Act was taxing on legal documents, books, newspapers, and even playing cards. The Colonists were upset by this because not only were they taxed without being represented, but suddenly religious documents like Bibles and Baptism Records were being taxed. The Colonists will successfully get this repealed. -
The Townshend Act
Taxes on lead, paper, paint, glass, and tea. This will again anger the colonists, and all of these taxes will be repealed in 1770. However, this would lead to unrest in Boston due to taxation without representation. This unrest will lead to English troops being sent there. -
British Troops Arrive in Boston
English troops are sent to Boston to settle unrest and to enforce the Townshend Act. This only causes more unrest though, and the Colonists push back. The troops are staying in their houses, messing with their economy, and enforcing taxes that are illegal due to taxation without representation. The troops meant to calm down Boston only angered it more. -
The Tea Act
In an effort to prop up the East India Company, Parliament forms a plan to give them a monopoly and allow them to flood the tea market with cheap tea, which Parliament would place a tiny tax on. However, this was still taxation without representation, many Members of Parliament were investors in the East India Company, and the idea of companies having monopolies over them ere angered the Colonists even more. -
The Boston Tea Party
When Bostonians were about to be forced by law to unload a shipment of East India Company Tea after keeping it in the harbor, they held a meeting at the Old South Meeting House. When Samuel Adams supposedly said," This meeting can do nothing further to save the country," men streamed out dressed as Mohawk Indians and dumped the tea from the ship into the harbor. The damages in today's money are about $1.7 Million. This angered Parliament enough, which enacted the Intolerable Acts. -
The Intolerable Acts
These acts were designed to punish the Bostonians for their acts of defiance such as the Tea Party. The 4 acts took away the self-governing capability that they were used to, which triggered anger all throughout the Colonies. This led to the First Continental Congress in order to coordinate a protest and more unrest from the Colonists. -
First Continental Congress
This was a meeting of delegates from 12 of the 13 colonies to figure out how they could respond to the Intolerable Acts. This Congress would go on to enable cooperation between all of the Colonies and go on to be an important part of the American Revolution. A later version of this congress would eventually go on to write the Declaration of Independence. -
New England stockpiles weapons
Angered by the British Government and sensing the oncoming war, the Colonists in New England began to stockpile weapons and ammunition. This led to the British Troops going through the country side trying to find and confiscate the weapons. On a mission such as this, The Shot Heard Round the World would be fired at Lexington and Concord -
Lexington and Concord
Sent to Lexington and Concord to confiscate weapons stockpiled by The Colonists. When they encountered a militia trying to buy time for the weapons to be moved, someone fired their weapon in the confusion. While no one knows who fired "The Shot Heard Round the World," Colonists were killed, giving Massachusets a reason to get the other Colonies involved at the beginning of The American revolution.