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Proclamation of 1763
After the Seven Years War, Britain won a lot of land in North America. The Proclamation 1763 made it illegal for the colonists to settle on some of that land that was west of the Appalachian mountains in order to make sure there were no conflicts with the Native Americans. This was not received well by the colonists because they had just helped fight for that land and were unable to use it. -
Sugar Act
British legislation aimed at ending the smuggling trade in sugar and molasses from the French and Dutch West Indies. The main reason for the sugar act was to tax sugar an molasses in order to get more revenue to pay for the French and Indian Wars. The colonists didn't like the sugar act because of taxation without representation. -
Currency Act
The Currency Act got rid of colonial currency and made the colonists use British currency. The colonists didn't like this because they had already created their own currency systems that they were contempt with. -
Quartering act
The Quartering Act required colonists to house the British soldiers in barracks that were provided by the colonists but if there was not enough room in those barracks for all of the soldiers they would have to allow the soldiers to stay in local houses/businesses. While many colonists didn't like the quartering act because they had to house British soldiers they also didn't like it because they were being taxed for the provisions and barracks. -
Stamp Act
There was a tax placed on all materials printed for commercial and legal use in the colonies. The colonies did not take this well, because it was a tax on everyday items that everyone had to use. People boycotted goods and even attacked the tax collectors to make them quit. -
Declaratory Act
The Declaratory Act stated that Parliament could make laws binding the American colonies "in all cases whatsoever." This means they had complete control over the laws pertaining to the colonists. The colonists disliked this because while the Stamp Act was repealed, the Declaratory Act hinted that there were more taxes to come in the future for the colonies. -
Townshend Acts
The Townshend Acts placed several more taxes on the colonies including imports of paper, paint, lead, glass, and tea. They also allowed British officials to search colonists' houses and businesses. New courts were set up to prosecute people without local juries. The colonists opposed the taxes just as they had on the previous goods. They also didn't like that their buildings were able to be searched whenever the officials deemed it necessary. -
Boston Massacre
What first started out as a few colonists and a British soldier fighting turned into a riot of colonists in which several were killed by the British soldiers. This was one of the major sparks for the American Revolution because it helped unify the colonies and their want to be free from British control. -
Gaspee Affair
The Gaspee Affair was an event in which many colonists boarded a British ship and burned it down. This is considered to be one if not the first blows at the British by the colonies and led to the idea of the Committee of Correspondence. It also just got a lot of the colonists talking because they all wanted to know what happened in Rhode Island. -
Tea Act
The Tea Act lowered the taxes imposed on the East India Company that they had to pay to the British government. This made it so that they were able to establish a monopoly in the colonies. It also reinforced a tax on tea in the colonies. So they were only able to buy the taxed tea from the East India Company. The colonists responded with the Sons of Liberty organizing the Boston Tea Party. -
Boston Tea Party
The Sons of Liberty organized the Boston Tea Party. They dumped 342 chests of tea, imported by the British East India Company into the harbor because they were mad at British Parliament for imposing taxation without representation. -
The Intolerable Acts
The Intolerable Acts were imposed to punish the colonists for the Boston Tea Party. Within these acts was the Boston Port Act, the Massachusetts Government Act, the Administration of Justice Act, the Quartering Act, and the Quebec act. -
First Continental Congress
This was a meeting of delegates from all 13 colonies except for Georgia. During this meeting, they spoke about boycotting British goods unless Britain repealed the intolerable acts.