-
French and Indian War
It all started in 1753 when Great Britain pressured France to withdraw from the Ohio River Valley. George Washington, who was a young British officer who was sent to Fort Duquesne to kick them out but they refused. He then returned a year later with a Virginia militia and fought with the French and lost. This battle started the war. The war ended in 1758 with Great Britain victorious. After the war Great Britain was in debt and they made colonists pay for them which started everything. -
Townshend Act
In 1767, Great Britain passed four laws, one of them being the Townshend Act. This idea was brought by a goverment minister, Charles Townshend. The Townshend act taxed colonists on lead, paint, paper, glass and tea so Great Britain could pay off debt from the French and Indian war. Many colonists did not like this law so they protested what they considered "taxation without representation". -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre happen on March 1770. Colonists were throwing snowballs at soldiers. While all the chaos was happening, someone yelled "fire" and 5 colonists were killed. The news about the massacre was spread throughout the colonies and started the Revolutionary war. -
The Boston Tea Party
Great Britain started taxing colonists for tea. This gave an advantage to the British East Indian company. It also put colonial tea merchants out of business. Colonists then dumped shiploads of British tea while disguised as Natives. This event happened in 1773 -
The battle of Lexington and Concord
This battle was fought between the British and Captain John Parker with his militia. The British were after their supplies. Only 8 colonists were killed during this battle. This was also the first battle that started the war. -
Battle of Bunker hill
This battle was lead by Colonel William Prescott and him and his colonists fought the British at Breeds hill. The British wanted to take over the hill. Although the British won, they lost 1000 soldiers while colonists didn't lose as much. This battle gave the colonists confidence. This battle is called Battle of Bunker Hill because the British didn't know where they were. -
Battle of Saratoga
There were 2 battles of Saratoga. First one was fought at Freemans farm. The British won this battle because they had German allies. The second battle was at Bemis Heights, lead by General Gates. The British surrended 6,000 soldiers. The most important thing about this battle was that America gained The French as an ally. -
Battle of Yorktown
This battle was lead by George Washington, he lead an army of French and Americans. They had about 17,000 troops against British's 9,000 troops. There was also a disease called malaria which was killing British soldiers. In the end, only 88 French and American soldiers died and 301 wounded. British surrendered 7,685 men. This was the last battle of the Revolutionary war. -
Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris was signed between the American colonies and the British on September 9th, 1783. It ended the Revolutionary war and gave the United States independence from Great Britain. The treaty was named after the place it was signed in.