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French and Indian War
The French and Indian War happened on May 28th, 1754. It was a 7 year long war that occured because Britain felt that France was gaining control over trade and territory and needed to stop them because they think the land is rightfully theirs. The French teamed up with Indians and fought against the British. The British ended up winning the war. -
British Impose New Taxes
In 1764, the British imposed new taxes on the American colonies. Britain taxed the colonies on sugar, known as "The Sugar Act". They did this because they felt the Americans needed to help pay off debt for the French and Indian War. -
Stamp Tax Passed
The Stamp Tax was passed by the Brritish Parliament that all colonies had to pay tax on every piece of printed paper used. They were taxed on things such as ship's paper, legal documents, licenses, newspapers, other publications and playing cards. The tax money was used to help pay costs of troops protecting the American frontier. This upset many Amerian Colonists as this was taxation without representation. -
The Quartering Act
The Quartering Act was passed by the Parliament that forced colonies to house British soldiers. They also had to provide them with anything the soldiers needed, like food. This angered the colonists because this law was made without the consent of them. -
Sons of Liberty Formed
The Sons of Liberty were a group of men from Boston that secretly formed to rebel against the British Parliament. They were upset over the taxes imposed on them without their consent. They were looked as American heroes of the era. -
Stamp Act Congress
Held in New York City, this meeting was held by 27 representatives to express their disagreements with the new laws created by the British Parliament. The 13 colonies declared that they did not have the right to tax them. It was also known as "The First Congress of The American Colonies". -
Stamp Tax Repealed
The British were surprised by the amount of people against the taxes. They had two choices: to repress the colonists with force or repeal the Stamp Tax. The King soon favored to end the taxes by a margin of 200 votes. By March 18th, the Stamp Act was repealed. -
Townshend Acts Imposed
The Townshend Acts were a series of acts passed by the British Parliament that taxed American colonies on glass, lead, paint, paper and tea that were imported to them. This of course angered many colonists. They felt that this was another abuse of power from the Parliament. -
Colonists Respond With Boycott
The colonists wanted to rebel against the Townshend Acts, so the Sons of Liberty created non-importation pacts within the colonies. They did not buy anything imported to them from Britain. This lead to a major drop in sales for British merchants. -
British Troops Land in Boston
In repsonse to the colonists objectifying the Townshend Acts, the British sent their troops to Boston to enforce it. The colonists were violating the natural, charter and constitutional rights of British subjects in the colonies. This lead to the Boston Massacre between the British and Americans. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was a riot between the British soldiers and colonists. The presence of foreign soldiers were strongly unwelcomed by colonists. The outbreak happened when 50 colonists attacked a British sentinal. The British killed five American civilians and injured 6 others. This fight was known as a foreshadow of the American Revolution. -
Townshend Act Repealed
Following the Boston Massacre, the British government repealed most of the Townshend Acts, all except for tea. The reason the Parliament decided to keep the tea taxed was because they wanted to maintain the principal that they can tax the colonies. This was definitely not a good choice, as the colonists were even more angered. -
Cutter Gaspee Burned
The Gaspee was a hated British revenue schooner amongst the colonists. In Rhode Island, 60 men led by Captain Whipple set off to where the schooner was loacted. They set the Gaspee on fire, making it sink into the water. -
Boston Tea Party
On December 16 of 1773, Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty boarded a ship and threw 342 chests of tea into the ocean. They had dressed up in disguise as Native Americans. This was their way of boycotting the tax on tea. The result was the Coercive Acts and the American colonists and Britain closer to war. -
Coercive Acts Imposed
On March 28th of 1774, the British Parliament passed the Coercive Acts (Intolerable Acts) because of the Boston Tea Party and other tactics the American Patriots have done. This was a series of four acts to punish them. The act included that they close down the Boston Port until all damages from the Boston Tea Party were paid, restricted Massachusettes and democratic town meetings, made the British immune to criminal prosecution in Massachusettes, and house and provide for British soldiers. -
First Continental Congress Meets
The First Continental Congress Meet was held in Carpenter's Hall in Philadelphia. All colonies except Georgia sent delegates. They discussed about the Intolerable Acts. They chose to support the Suffolk Resolves and a pact called the Continental Association and decided to boycott the British until the Intolerable Acts were repealed.
