-
Jun 15, 1215
Magna Carta
Drafted by the Archbishop of Canterbury; it was an agreement made with King John and his citizens to limit the power a monarch has. It was the inspiration for countless similar movements/documents. The Magna Carta was agreed upon by the king near Windsor, England. -
Period: 1500 to
Mercantilism
An economic policy more or less perfected by Jean-Baptiste Colbert that aims to minimize imports and maximize exports so as to rake in as much money as possible in a nation. It was very popular in Europe. -
Mayflower Compact
A set of guidelines/rules that were created by two pilgrims that made it to the U.S via the Mayflower ship. The compact said that citizens were required to better the community, stay loyal to King James, and practice Christianity. -
English Bill of Rights
Written by the English Parliament the bill was to limit the power of the monarchs, separate powers, and improve free speech -
Cato's Letters
A collection of essays written by English writers Thomas Gordon and John Trenchard. They were published using Cato as a pseudonym, Cato being a famous enemy of Julias Ceaser. The essays where mostly about calling out the British Government's corruption and immoral actions. -
French and Indian War
A 7-year war between British and French colonists, Native Americans largely siding with the British thus massively outnumbering the French. The war was mostly about territory and was considered a continuation of France and England's 100-year war. -
Stamp Act
An Act by the British Parliament that forced colonists to pay a tax on every piece of printed paper they used, the money funneling into Britains economy. -
Declaratory Act
As a response to the repeal of the Stamp Act, British Charles Watson-Wentworth introduced the Declaratory Act which in summation gave Britain full power to control laws, taxes, and general unpleasantries for the colonies -
Boston Massacre
The infamous event in which 5 unarmed colonists who were harassing British soldiers and were then gunned down. This took place in, you guessed it, Boston and caused huge ripples throughout the colonies as this was a truly disturbing act. -
Tea Act
In essence, the Tea Act was introduced by the British Parliament to save a struggling tea company in East India by allowing them to sell highly taxed tea to Colonists as the sole provider whilst also not having to go through England. -
Boston Tea Party
Samuel Adams led the Sons of Liberty to destroy 3 British ships-worth of tea in protest to the taxes that had been placed on the good, as a result, parliament rolled out the intolerable acts. -
Intolerable Act/Coercive Act
You'll never guess what this is... More unfair taxes and whatnot put in place by the British Parliament! They revoked the colonist's historic rights to Massachusetts which really got them fired up, as well as making it more or less impossible to self-govern. -
First Continental Congress
When 12 representatives from the 13 colonies met in Carpenter's Hall in Philidelphia to discuss what could be done in response to the coercive acts that had recently been passed. -
Lexington & Concord
These were the first proper battles between Britain and the colonists; Lexington & Concord marked the beginning of the American Revolutionary War. They took place in Middlesex County Massachusetts. The colonists lost 49 soldiers whereas the Britsh lost a heftier 73. -
Second Continental Congress
Unlike the First Continental Congress, this one had representatives from all 13 colonies gathering to discuss Britains lack of address for their original grievances and to assemble an army for the revolution. -
Townshend Act
Proposed by the namesake: Charles Townshend, the Townshend Acts were a series of unpleasantries imposed upon the colonists such as new taxes on paper, tea, glass, etc. There were also a few freedom violations; British officials could now search colonist's property at random and legal cases dealing with smugglers no longer had a local jury. -
Common Sense
This pamphlet by written by English-born-American-activist Thomas Paine urged colonists to break away from British rule. The piece sold like gangbusters and changed many a mind. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was the document created by the representatives of the colonies that stated that the U.S was breaking away from Britain. It was written by Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston. It's considered one of history's most important documents; it was signed on August 2, 1776.
