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French and Indian War - 1754 to 1763
The French and Indian War was also known as the Seven Years War and was between England and the American colonies, against the French and some of the Indians in North America. Great Britain spent a lot of money and after the war was done, France lost control over Canada. The Indians were also defeated by American Colonies. -
Proclamation of 1763
Taking place at the end of the French and Indian War, a proclamation was issued between the British and was brought up to be only temporary. At the time, the effect was greatly impacted with the United States and Canada. -
The Sugar Act
The Sugar Act was the renewal of the Sugar and Molasses Act in 1733 which was about to expire. The original act was to require merchants to pay taxes on sugar and molasses. In 1764, the tax was lowered from six pence per gallon to only three pence per gallon. More was listed including sugar, certain wines, coffee, pimiento, and further, regulated the export of lumber and iron. -
The Stamp Act
The Parliament once again wanted to add taxes on specific products. The Stamp Act required merchants to pay a tax on all printed paper they used. The money that was brought in by the taxes were to fund the 10,000 American troops in the Appalachian Mountains. -
The Quartering Acts
The British Parliament created two acts stating that British Soldiers were allowed to board and move into the houses of an American Colonist. The head of the household was still responsible to care for and provide any needs for the soldier or soldiers. They were all later kicked out by George Washington after the Boston Massacre in 1776. -
Townshend Act
The Townshend Acts were named after Exchequer Charles Townshend in 1767. This was a series of measures that included taxes on glass, lead, paints, paper and tea imported into the colonies. Many of the Americans did not agree and believed it was an abuse of power. The acts were soon abolished in 1770 except for the tax on tea. -
The Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was also known as the Incident on King Street. What started out as a snowball fight, turned into loose fire by British Soldiers. Five people total were dead and nine people arrested. Now, every year on March 5, the massacre is reenacted on the same site in front of the Old State House. -
Boston Tea Party
The most famous protest in history was the Boston Tea Party. Angry colonists were tired of being taxed for tea. In other colonies, they were rejecting any incoming tea shipments. In Boston on the other hand, threw 342 chests of tea overboard which led to a lot pf punishment. -
Intolerable Acts
The Intolerable Acts were also called the Coercive Acts after the Boston Tea Party. A series of four acts issued by the British government were to punish the acts of Boston. After the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party, they had hoped they were going to be separated from all the other colonists. The colonies acted opposite. They rushed to their defense. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord really set the tone for the American Revolutionary War. April 18, hundreds of British troops marched to Concord. Paul Revere and some others sounded the alarm and started to fire. The British were quickly retreating under intense fire. Many battles after this occurrence followed along and in 1783, the colonists won their independence. -
Siege of Yorktown
The Siege of Yorktown was also the Battle of Yorktown. This combined group of American and French soldiers against the British army was led by George Washington and French General Comte de Rochambeau. On October 14, the British surrendered and this was proven to be the last battle during the American Revolution. The British shortly after started making peace negotiations.
