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The French and Indian War
The war started because of property disputes between countries. The debt obtained from the 7 Years War was pushed on the colonies through taxes, which angered colonists. -
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Revolutionary Events
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The Sugar Act
This was to help prevent smuggling sugar by enforcing tax collection. Some boycotted sugar and molasses to protest, they saw the act as taking away rights they had. -
The Stamp Act
This act put a tax on all printed goods. Britain just came out of the 7 Years War and were desperate for money. The colonies needed and used printed goods often, so they felt this was a violation of their rights. This was a powerful force to drive the revolution. -
The Quartering Act
The King required the colonies to provide housing and food for the British soldiers. Colonists felt this infringed their rights, which eventually led to the revolution. -
Boston Massacre
A mob of patriots were taunting British soldiers with snowballs and clubs. There is confusion as to what exactly happened, but the British shot into the crowd and killed 5 (or 6?) people.
People were very upset with the soldiers and the King so this helped unite Massachusetts and the colonies together towards a revolution. -
The Tea Act
The British East India Company was on the verge of bankruptcy, so Britain put a tax on tea, a very popular good, in an attempt to save it. Colonists protested this with boycotts and eventually the Boston Tea Party. -
Boston Tea Party
This was in protest of the Tea Act, they were upset about "taxation without representation". The Sons of Liberty disguised themselves as Natives and snuck onto a ship and dumped all tea in the harbor. This made the King very mad, the damages were about $1-3 million and they see this as a threat to British rule. -
The Intolerable Acts
The King had enough of the colonies, especially Massachusetts, and after the Boston Tea Party, put the Intolerable, or Coercive Acts into place. This shut down Boston Harbor's trading until they were compensated for the tea. Many more freedoms were given to the British, like soldiers being tried outside Massachusetts and furthering the Quartering Act. General Gage was also appointed as Governor. Like previous acts, this angered the colonists and furthered their need for revolution. -
Lexington and Concord
This is the battle that officially began the Revolutionary War. British soldiers marched from Boston to Concord to seize revolution leaders and weapons. Colonial militia met them in Lexington where the battle took place. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
This is one of the first battles fought for the revolution. The British won, but suffered mass casualties.