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French and Indian War 1754 Part 2
Summary Continued: The war ended with the treaty of Paris (1763) in which British colonies gained French land west of the Mississippi River and Florida which originally belonged to the Spanish. Effects: However this war left Britain and its colonies in enormous debt to make up for the debt they built over the war Britain began taxing its colonies, this ultimately led to the American Revolution. -
French and Indian War 1754 Part 1
Summary: The war started due to disputes over England's thrones in Europe and was reflected in North America through the colonies. This war lasted 7 years and involved the colonies of England (Britain), France, and several Native American tribes. Though the colonies were commissioned to fight from their governing nations, they had their own reasons to fight as well which included gaining control of the fisheries, fur trading, and territories -
Proclamation of 1763 Part 1
Summary: An order by King George that forbade Americans from settling west of the Application Mountains. This was created at the end of the French & Indian War. -
Proclamation of 1763 Part 2
Effect: One of the main goals of the war was to capture the Ohio River Vallery, an area rich in timber and fur. After years of grueling warfare, the Americans believed that they had earned the right to settle and harvest this land. However, the Proclamation specifically forbids this, which many Americans took as a violation of their inherent right to property. -
Sugar Act 1765 Part 2
Effect: Protests in Massachusetts began, this act set up for what would become a united fight of all the colonies against Britain. Boycotting also began but since sugar products were essential to everyday life it was hard. Since Britains biggest trade was made with its own colonies the boycotting eventually hurt the British's trade enough to repeal the act in 1766. To combat the repeal and any victory the colonists may have felt Britain also released the Declaratory act at the same time. -
Sugar Act 1764 Part 1
Summary: The French and Indian War left Britain in great debt so Britain began taxing its colonies to pay for the expenses. The Sugar Act was created to solve multiple problems firstly being the debt and secondly the smuggling the colonies resorted to after the imposition of these taxations. The Sugar Act actually lowered the taxation on items of sugar and molasses from the previous Molasses Act of 1733 but it required duties to be collected on importations of sugar and molasses. -
Stamp Act 1765
Summary: The Stamp Act imposed a tax on all paper products (paper, documents, playing cards, etc.) in the colonies. Still trying to recover from the long seven-year French and Indian war the British were taxing and finding new ways to gain money from the colonies. This money also went towards housing and supplies for British soldiers still in the colonies after the war. -
Stamp Act 1765 Part 2
Effect: The colonists were more concerned that they had no representation in the British Parliament that they were imposing taxes with the say of the colonists. It was hard to boycott paper products since they were used for most things but the colonists once again boycotted these products and even resorted to riots and attacking the tax collectors. -
1st Quartering Act 1765 Part 1
Summary: During the French and Indian war British troops were sent to the colonies to fight. However, the troops had trouble finding housing, and after the war ended British Parliament decided to keep several in the colonies to firstly protect them and secondly make sure the colonists were abiding by the taxations put down. -
1st Quartering Act 1765 Part 2
Summary Continued: These soldiers needed housing but it did not require soldiers to be housed by citizens but that the colonial governments pay for any food and find housing whether it be in barracks, inns, outbuildings, unused homes, private homes, etc. Effect: This just fueled the citizen's want for separation from Britain, they felt that their privacy along with their rights had been violated. They didn't dwell over this long they were focused on the Stamp Act that had just been passed. -
Declaratory Act 1766 Part 1
After Britain imposed the Sugar Act and Stamp Acts on the colonies they began boycotting and no longering buying taxed products or importing goods that required a duty to be paid. This hurt Britain and so they repealed the Sugar Act. After this Britian needed to make it clear to the colonists it was still in charge and had full authority over the colonies. -
Declaratory Act 1766 Part 2
Summary Continued: The Declaratory Act was created and basically said that colonies could be taxed and laws could be made for the colonies by the British parliament just as if it were Great Britain. Effect: Some saw this as a victory over Britain that all the boycotting and protests had worked but the reality of it was Britain still had no plans on giving up any authority over the colonies which just upset them even more. -
Townshend Acts 1767 Part 1
Summary: The Townshend Acts were a series of acts passed by the British parliament to gain more control over the colonies and enforce more taxes but now on imported goods such as tea, glass, paper, and lead. By repealing the Sugar Act Britain still needed a way to gain money from the colonies, to do this they created the Townshend Acts. Britain used part of this money to ensure loyalty of officials, to make sure the colonists actually paid their part. -
Townshend Acts 1767 Part 2
Effect: Once again the colonists turned to boycott but it was hard when the imports were those that the colonists could not produce themselves. These boycotts and riots lead to a very specific event that was the turning point for many undecided or neutral people, this event was the Boston Massacre. -
Boston Massacre 1770 Part 1
Summary: In protest of the recent taxations of the Townshend Acts and the tension it built, a small riot began in the streets of Boston. A fight between a few patriots and a British sentinel erupted, this escalated very quickly and both parties grew in size the mob began throwing stones, sticks, snowballs, etc. at the soldiers. Open fire began on the mob instantly killing 3 men and wounding another eight who would die of them later. -
Boston Massacre 1770 Part 2
Effect: This "Massacre," was the situation the patriots needed to start a spark in amongst the colonies against Britain. Leaders like Paul Revere took it upon themselves to inform the public of this event, he created a drawing of the Boston Massacre known as, 'The Bloody Massacre,' showing the soldiers shooting at the colonists in the street, using this as propaganda to convince others that these British soldiers needed to leave. -
Tea Act 1773 Part 1
Summary: This Act was not a new tax to the colonists but it was placed to help the dying British East India Trading Company flourish by monopolizing the tea importation into the colonies. They sold tea under the price of illegally imported tea to stop illegal importation (since illegal importation of tea is what put them out of business in the first place) but made the citizens also pay their duties on the tea from the Townshend Acts. -
Tea Act 1773 Part 2
Effect: The Townshend Acts for tea were not repealed due to the illegal importation and boycotting of tea instead they pushed more tea onto the colonists by monopolizing the tea trade making colonists even madder. The colonists did not let the tea be unloaded from the ships and sent them right back to England, they refused to pay for the tea and its taxes. Some ports also held the ships, not allowing them to return until demands were met. This set up for the infamous Boston Tea Party. -
Boston Tea Party 1773 Part 1
Summary: After the ships were held in Boston full of tea, a group made up mostly of the Sons of Liberty disguised themselves as Native Americans and protested the taxation without representation. They did this by boarding the ships dressed as Native Americans and dumping 342 chests of tea into the ocean, it took three hours, and consisted of 90,000 pounds of tea. -
Boston Tea Party 1773 Part 2
Effect: In punishment for this stunt, Britain imposed the Intolerable Acts. The British completely shut down the Boston Harbor and made sure every last bit of tea was paid. However, this did not work instead the colonists protested, and this lead to what would become the American Revolution.