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French and Indian War
The French and Indian War was fought primarily over French occupation of the Ohio River Valley. The war is noted for both sides (French and English) using Native Americans as combatants. The war resulted in British victory, forcing France to give up most of their American territory. Later on, this allowed the American Independence fighters an advantage because they wouldn't have to deal with outside powers potentially siding with the British. -
Proclamation of 1763
This proclamation was sent out by King George after the French and Indian War. It banned the settlers from colonising any farther westward. This was sent out in response of Pontiacs's rebellion as a way of consolidating the Native Americans. Many colonists ignored this and settled anyways, one of the first acts of defiance against the crown. -
Sugar Act
The Sugar Act was a modified version of the Sugar and Molasses Act, which charged an additional tax on anything that contained sugar or molasses. This tax put a hit on colonial rum production and also angered the colonists due to their lack of representation in British Parliament. This tax lowered the previous rates of the Sugar and Molasses Act in the hopes that more people would pay it and that there would be less piracy. -
Quartering Act
The Quartering Act was issued by the British Crown, outlining the laws the colonists must abide by relating the housing and feeding of British soldiers. This angered the people, because housing them didn't require their consent and it was highly unfair. -
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act was another tax, this time on essentially all paper products such as playing cards and newspapers. This also made the colonists angry due to their lack of Parliament representation and led to the attacking of tax collectors and major protests -
Townshend Acts
These acts were a series of taxes passed on several common items that would have to be bought, such as glass, lead, paper, paint, and tea. Americans just saw these taxes as an abuse of power against them, being completely unfair. These were later appealed (except the tax on tea.) -
The Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was an attack by British soldiers when a crowd of colonists were protesting. They ended up killing five protesters, rallying support for the patriot cause. The dead here are considered the first deaths of the Revolutionary War. -
Tea Act
The Tea Act was a tax placed on tea against the American colonies in order to help the severely in debt British Crown. It's primary goal was to gather revenue from the colonies in order to help prevent the bankruptcy of the East India Company. It was met with critical response because, again, no representation. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was a major act of defiance by the Americans in which they dumped several cases of tea into the Boston Harbor. This was an economic loss for Great Britain, costing them over 1,000,000 dollars in today's currency. This was in response to the Tea Act. -
Coercive Acts
In response to the Boston Tea Party, British Parliament passed a serious of acts with the goal of reestablishing stability in Massachusetts, and also punishing the Bostonian's for their clear acts of defiance. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord are considered the first shots of the Revolutionary War, resulting in an American victory. This also proved that they were able to stand up to one of the largest armies in the world, and even win. The Americans lost about 90 soldiers, while the British lost near 250.
