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Albany Congress
The British Government held a meeting of colonial leaders and Native Americans in Albany, New York. They wanted the colonies to work together in defending against the French. They got the word out there with Ben Franklin's "Philadelphia Gazette." They also wanted to form an alliance with the Iroquois, the Iroquois refused because they expected the French to win the war. -
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The French and Indian War
The French and Native Americans were fighting against the British, Colonists and the Iroquois in the French and Indian war. They fought over control over the Ohio River Valley in North America. The British win. France lost their entire North American empire to the British. -
The Treaty of Paris
Britain and France signed the Treaty of Paris in Paris. France lost all of its land in North America to the British. France did this because after losing Quebec they could no longer afford to defend the rest of their North American territory. -
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Pontiac War
The leader of the Ottawa nation, Pontiac, formed an alliance with the western Native Americans. This was part of the French and Indian war. Pontiac and his forces attacked British forts and settlements throughout the area. British settlers killed Native Americans who had not attacked them. The British defeated Pontiac in early August at a battle near Fort Pitt. -
Proclamation of 1763
The British government issued a proclamation which prevented colonists from settling west of the line drawn across the Appalachian Mountains. Settlers were told that they had to move east of the line. They did this because they wanted to prevent any further wars with the Native Americans. A lot of colonists Believed that they have the right to settle wherever they wanted, therefore the proclamation was ignored and was impossible for the British to enforce. -
Sugar Act
Parliament passed the sugar act which would put import tax on many goods such as molasses. It also gave harsh punishments to smugglers. Colonial merchants protested, which they sometimes traded smuggled goods. -
Stamp Act
The stamp act required that all colonists had to buy special tax stamps for all sorts of products and activities. The stamps had to be placed on newspapers, wills, licenses, insurance policies, land titles, contracts, and other documents. Of course colonist didn't like this so merchants in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia organized a boycott of British goods. -
The Quartering Act
Parliament passed the Quartering Act so they wouldn't have to spend money housing and feeding soldiers. The quartering act made it so colonists had to quarter or house british soldiers and feed them as well as supply them with other supplies. The colonists protested, they believed that Parliament was violating their rights. -
The Boston Massacre
In Boston an angry crowd of workers and sailors surrounded a small group of soldiers. They yelled and hollered at the soldiers and also threw snowballs and rocks at them. Then the soldiers fired and killed 5 people and wounded 6 people. -
Tea Act
The British Parliament passed the Tea Act to help the British East India Company. The Tea Act lowered the price of tea by allowing the East India Company to ship tea directly to the colonies. The only issue was that this gave the East India Company a monopoly on selling British tea in the colonies. This hurt a lot of colonial merchants, so many of them smuggled Dutch tea into the Colonies and then sold it. -
Boston Tea Party
During the night a large group of men disguised as Native Americans boarded a tea ship and spent three hours throwing 342 cases of tea off the ship and into the harbor. They destroyed 90,000 pounds of tea which was worth thousands of dollars. They did this because they wanted rid of the Tea Act. -
Intolerable Acts
The Intolerable Acts were laws passed by Parliament in response to the Boston Tea Party. One law completely closed the port of Boston. Two others increased the powers of the royal governor, abolished the upper house of the Massachusetts legislature, and cut the powers of town meetings. Lastly the fourth law strengthened the 1765 Quartering Act. The Colonists reveled with another boycott of British Goods. -
First Continental Congress
The First Continental Congress was a meeting held in Philadelphia. 12 of the 13 colonies sent delegates, Georgia didn't send a representative. The Congress demanded the end of the Intolerable Acts, declared that the colonies had the right to tax and govern themselves, called for training of militias to fight British troops if necessary and called for a new boycott of British goods. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
The British sent 700 troops to Lexington to seize arms and capture important Colonial leaders. Paul Revere and William Dawes warned the 77 minutemen in Lexington. The British won in Lexington. But in Concord about 4,000 Americans shot at the British from behind rocks and trees. At least 300 were killed or wounded by the time the British reached Boston. -
The Second Continental Congress
In Philadelphia Congress came together. Nearly all delegates felt the need to prepare for war. First they formed an army. Next George Washington was chosen as the commander of the newly formed Continental Army. Then they printed paper money to pay for the army. -
Battle for Fort Ticonderoga
A group of colonists known as the Green Mountain Boys surprise attacked a fort at the southern end of Lake Champlain called Fort Ticonderoga. Ethan Allen was the leader of these forces. Allen's 83 men reached the fort by crossing the lake at night and surprised the British in the morning. The British only had 42 troops guarding the fort and surrendered almost immediately. Fort Ticonderoga held cannons which we needed. It also controlled the main route between Canada and the Hudson River Valley. -
Battles of Bunker and Breeds Hill
British General William Howe attacked straight up Breed's hill. The colonists his in trenches on the top of the hill. They waited until the British were about 150 feet away and opened fire killing British troops. Howe ordered to do so 3 more times, first two, unsuccessful. But the third time colonists ran out of ammo and had to retreat. The British won but a terrible cost, more than 1,000 British troops were killed or wounded. And only about 400 American troops were killed or wounded. -
Olive Branch Petition
Delegates at the Second Continental Congress hoped to restore peace between Britain and the American colonies. The Congress was uncertain so they passed the Olive Branch Petition. It was sent to King George. The petition asked George to stop all of the fighting and bring peace. The colonists would be loyal to the king. The petition got it's name from the olive branch which has been a worldwide sign of peace since ancient times. King George ignored the Olive Branch Petition. -
Invasion of Quebec
One army led by Richard Montgomery, moving left of Ticonderoga. And the other led by Benedict Arnold, heading north through Maine. Arnold's trip through the Maine woods in the winter was gruesome. His troops were forced to boil candles, bark, and shoe leather for food. In late December the Americans attacked Quebec during a severe snowstorm. Montgomery was killed and Arnold wounded. The American troops were weakened by hunger and disease so they left Canada for the British. -
The British Withdrawal from Boston
George Washington knew he had to drive the British out of Boston. So he set up cannons that were transported 300 miles from Fort Ticonderoga on high ground overlooking Boston. The British could no longer defend and sailed away from Boston. The British never returned.