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1620 - Plymouth Colony is Established
During the year 1620, the Separatist Puritans settled on the land now known as Plymouth. The colonists, having drawn up the Mayflower Compact shortly before they landed, set up the first true example of American self-governance. The Puritans would set a precedent of self-government that would continue up to the modern day, one which greatly influenced the attitude of the Patriots during the Revolutionary War. -
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1730-40 - The Great Awakening
The Great Awakening was a religious movement seen in the Thirteen Colonies and the first major American ideological movement. One major aspect of the Great Awakening was that American preachers began to advocate for having a personal relationship with God. By advocating for this relationship, the preachers cast doubt on the divine right of the English King to and, in general, created a distrust of centralized authority that heavily influenced the outlook of the Patriots forty years later. -
1763 - The End of the French and Indian War
The Treaty of Paris brought an official end to the French and Indian War in 1763. In the aftermath of the war, the British Empire would hoist much of the blame for the conflict onto the American colonists. In order to pay back its war debts, Britain would levy harsh taxes against the colonies, which would heavily influence American attitude toward the British. -
1764 - The Sugar Act
As its name suggests, the Sugar Act was a tax on the sale of sugar and other such items. The main effect of the Sugar Act, however, was the issuing of Writs of Assistance, essentially giving British officials to conduct searches of shipping vessels and homes without warrants. These searches created a colonial distrust of British rule and helped to fuel Revolutionary attitudes in the Thirteen Colonies. -
1765 - The Stamp Act
The Stamp Act of 1765 was issued as a tax on all printed goods, from newspapers to diplomas and more. This tax, which was not automatically added onto the costs of these items, was seen as overly intrusive by the American colonists. This attitude resulted in non-violent resistance to the Stamp Act, such as refusing to collect the tax or simply boycotting the goods. -
1766 - The Townshend Duties
Though they repealed the Stamp Act, the Townshend Duties were just as disliked, if not moreso. The Townshend Duties taxed such products as glass, paint, and other such items. However, the money that these duties created was used to fund the British military presence in the Thirteen Colonies. As such, many Revolutionary-minded people boycotted these products, instead using homemade versions of the same things that these duties taxed. -
1770 - The Boston Massacre
On March 5th, 1770, a group of British soldiers fired into a crowd of protesting Boston citizens. The shooting killed five of the colonists and injured several others. The incident, which came to be called the Boston Massacre by the colonists, would bolster Revolutionary sentiments throughout the Thirteen Colonies and especially in Boston. -
1773 - The Tea Act
Like the Sugar Act, the Tea Act was a tax on its namesake good: tea. However, also like the Sugar Act, it had consequences that reached farther than this. In an attempt to prop up the failing British East India Company, the British Empire gave it a monopoly over the tea trade in the Thirteen Colonies. The establishment of this monopoly on the tea trade outraged the colonists to such a degree that they would eventually use semi-violent methods to protest the Tea Act. -
1773 - The Boston Tea Party
During the night of December 15th, 1773, members of the Revolutionary group known as the Sons of Liberty staged the Boston Tea Party in protest of the Tea Act. The Sons of Liberty, disguised as Mohawk Indians, boarded the ships of the British East India Company in Boston Harbor and dumped an estimated $1-3 million worth of tea into the harbor. The Boston Tea Party would bolster the confidence of Patriots in the Thirteen Colonies while giving Britain justification punish Revolutionary elements. -
1774 - The Intolerable Acts
As punishment for the Boston Tea Party, the British Empire passed the Intolerable Acts, blockading Boston Harbor, ending American self-governance, requiring colonists to quarter British troops, moving all arrested soldiers to Britain for trial, and giving the Ohio River Valley region to Quebec. These acts were to be in place until Boston payed off the damages of the Boston Tea Party. Soon after, the colonists assembled to petition the King to either repeal the acts or grant America independence.