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Proclamation of 1763
In 1763, King George III signed the Proclamation of 1763, which prohibited American settlements west of the Appalachian Mountains. This meant that any settlement present there had to move east. The document was aimed at preventing conflicts between American colonists and Native Americans. -
The Sugar Act
The Sugar Act was passed by Parliament to pay for the war debt resulting from the French and Indian War, as well as to help finance the administration of colonies and new territories. This act prohibited the importation of all foreign rum. -
The Stamp Act
In March, the British Parliament passed the Stamp Act, imposing the first direct tax on the American colonies. It was the first time in the 150-year history of the British colonies in America that the colonies would pay taxes directly to England, instead of their own local legislatures. Under the Stamp Act, all printed materials were taxed, including papers, bills, documents, licenses, dice, and playing cards. -
The quartering act
During the colonial period, English settlers depended on local militias instead of professional soldiers. However, in 1765, the British Parliament passed the Quartering Act, which obligated the American colonies to provide housing for British soldiers, even during peacetime. In addition to lodging, they were also required to supply food, firewood, and even beer. -
The Boston Massacre
Late in the afternoon of March 5, 1770, British sentries guarding the Boston Customs House shot into a crowd of civilians, killing three men and injuring eight, two of them mortally. Five men were killed in the incident known as the Boston Massacre. Among them was Crispus Attucks, a former slave. Captain Preston and four men were cleared of all charges in the following trial. Two others were convicted of manslaughter but were sentenced to a mere branding of the thumb. -
The Boston Tea Party
On the night of December 16, 1773, the Sons of Liberty destroyed 340 chests of British East India Company Tea, weighing over 92,000 pounds (roughly 46 tons) onboard the Beaver, Dartmouth, and Eleanor, by smashing them open with an assortment of axes and dumping them into Boston Harbor. This event, known as the Boston Tea Party, led to the imposition of even more stringent policies on the Massachusetts colony by the British government. -
The Massachusetts Government Act
The Massachusetts Government Act was one of the Acts which restructured the Massachusetts government and gave more power to the royally appointed. It was an act for better regulating the government of the province of Massachusetts Bay in New England. -
The Intolerable Acts
The Intolerable Acts were four laws passed by the British Parliament to punish Massachusetts Bay for the Boston Tea Party in 1774. -
Quebec Act
The Quebec Act was put in place to establish the procedures of governance for the Province of Quebec. Great Britain acquired the territory from France through the 1763 Treaty of Paris. The Act defined the structure of the provincial government by creating a governor who was supported by a legislative council. -
Declaration of Independence
In 1776, the Continental Congress issued the Declaration of Independence while George Washington led the Continental Army in defending New York City from a British attack. The Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776, and it severed the political connections between the 13 American colonies and Great Britain. The document summarized the reasons why the colonists were seeking independence.