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The end of the French And Indian war
After shedding blood for the colonists in the French and Indian war, the British wanted more rule over The colonies. This caused tension between the British and the colonists and Benjamin Franklin drafted the Albany Plan of Union to unite the colonies under British rule. -
New taxes for Colonists
The French and Indian war nearly doubled the national debt of Britain leading to Britain raising taxes on colonists. The colonists pleaded that because they had no representation in parliament, they should not have to be taxed. This was call "Taxation Without Representation" and led to many protests by the colonists. -
Political Heritage
Colonists were torn after the British introduced taxes. Many colonists enjoyed the protection of the British and felt safer because of them. Colonists also liked the freedom of not having to pay taxes and because of this split, it was hard for the colonists to come together to protest. -
Leaders Emerge
Once colonies start coming together against the British, leaders begin to emerge. Associations were formed known as the Sons Of Liberty, their most famous leader being Samuel Adams.After many protests against parliaments taxes, all stamp collectors in the colonists resigned, leaving no one to collect taxes. -
Leaders begin to organize a Boycott
Because some colonial leaders opposed the taxes yet also fared the violence of the crowds, leaders began to control and coordinate their protests. Colonists began to stop buying from British merchants and began making their own clothes and cloth. This caused British merchants and manufacturers to pressure parliament into repealing the stamp act. -
Boston Massacre
A group of colonists threw snow balls and rocks at British soldiers that guarded the Customs House. Out of fear, the British shot at the crowd , killing five colonists. -
Boston Tea party
Since Parliament taxed tea, colonists would boycott British tea and smuggle Dutch tea. The British East India company struggle financially, so a law was passed allowing the company to sell directly to the colonists. This made tea even cheaper than having to smuggle it but colonist felt as if they were being tricked into paying the tax. Colonists took matters into their own hands and, disguised as Indians, boarded British ships with plentiful tea on board and dumped it into the harbor . -
Intolerable Act
As consequence for the Boston tea party, parliament passed the intolerable act, also known as the coercive act. The Port to trade was closed until the destroyed tea was paid for. The governors power was also increased, setting warships and troops to set up in Boston. The colonists were forced to house those same troops as punishment. -
First continental congress
The colonists saw the coercive act as a threat to their freedom. The Colonies that opposed the act, all but Georgia, had representatives meet in Philadelphia. As a way to withdraw the intolerable act, the delegates from the colonies boycotted all British imports. Governments were established that bypassed parliament. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
Word spread that the British approached Lexington to Arrest Hancock and Adams, along with seizing Patriot weapons, Patriot soldiers gathered to send the troops back to Boston. Ordered to disperse, the Patriots listened to the British commander, yet eight were shot. As The troops marched on to concord, hundreds of minute men lined up and killed or wounded over 200 British troopers. The exhausted British troops found safety in Boston, and the Patriots seized control of the New England colonies.
