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The French and Indian War
This conflict was begun when George Washington and his troops, sent by the Governor of Virginia (to protect Virginia land claims against the French), killed the leader of a group of French soldiers they met on the way to Fort Duquesne. The French retaliated by destroying Washington's quickly constructed Fort Necessity. After the war's end, France lost all its major land possessions in North America. The Ohio River Valley was given to the British and Trans-Louisiana-Mississippi to the Spanish -
The Sugar Act is Passed
The Sugar Act was the first law passed by British Parliament for raising revenue from the colonies. Its main affect was to raise the duty on sugar imported from the West Indies. This caused outrage in the colonies, enough so that the duties were eventually lowered. -
The Stamp Act is Passed
This tax applied to a variety of paper goods and was proved paid by affixing a special stamp to whatever good was purchased. This particular act was the one that aroused the colonial cry of "No taxation without representation!" since there were no colonial representatives in Parliament. The colonists resented the act both because of this principle and because violators would be sent to jury-less Admiralty Courts where defendants were guilty until proven innocent. -
The Quartering Act is Passed
This act required certain colonies to provide food and housing to British troops. A new version of this act, passed in 1774, allowed authorities to place soldiers in private homes as their "quarters." Britain thought this was a fair way to help defer some of the costs of military protection of the colonies onto the colonies. The colonists, however, resented this measure. -
The Stamp Act Congress is Begun
This Congress was composed of 27 delegates from nine of the colonies. Its purpose was to draw up a statement of colonial rights and grievances to be sent to British Parliament and the king. While it made little impact on Britain, the Congress did tie the colonies closer together. -
The Declaratory Act is Passed
This act simply reaffirmed Britain’s right to absolute sovereignty of the colonies. This directly clashed with ideals of the colonists, who wanted a measure of sovereignty for themselves (they’d grown accustomed to salutary neglect and with it, relative autonomy.). Both sides were coming to the “irreconcilable differences” that would be the impetus of the American Revolution. -
The Townshend Acts are Passed
The Townshend Acts were named after Charles Townshend, a leader of the British governmental ministry. The acts skirted the idea of being an “internal tax,” by being enacted in the form of light duties (“external taxes”). These duties applied to glass, white lead, paper, paint, and tea. The proceeds of this were to go to paying royal governors and judges. The colonists didn’t like this because it left them without the power to use payment as incentive for these officials to do what they want. -
Boston Nonimportation Agreement
These agreements called for a boycott of British goods in response to the Townshend Acts. Previous colonies-wide nonimportation acts had forced the repeal of the Stamp Act as British merchants pressured a reluctant Parliament so that their businesses would thrive again. One of the major boycott items was wool, which the colonies began encouraging production of in their own lands. -
The Boston Massacre
Still angered over the recent death of an 11-year-old boy shot by British soldiers, Colonists taunted and threw snowballs at a group of soldiers. The boy’s death was resultant from a protest against a merchant violating colonial nonimportation agreements. The soldiers fired on the jeering colonists without orders, killing 11 citizens, and then got off with only two charged with manslaughter (the others’ hands were branded). -
Virginia Creates First Intercolonial Committee of Correspondence
Originally started in Boston by Samuel Adams, Virginia set up its own committee of correspondence, which was the first to be “intercolonial.” It was established as a standing committee in the House of Burgesses. Each colony would eventually adopt its own committee, the forerunners of American Congresses. **Note, day of establishment is not know here. The "1" means nothing. -
The Boston Tea Party
Over a hundred Boston citizens disguised themselves as Indians and destroyed the cargo of a British ship delivering imports of tea. This boiling point was reached after Britain gave the British East India Company a monopoly on the sale of tea in the colonies. This lowered prices, but colonists saw it as a trick to get them to accept the British tax on tea. -
The Quebec Act is Passed
This was a late decision by Britain to make some provisions for their French subjects in Nova Scotia. It extended the colony’s border to the Ohio River Valley, protected their Catholic religion, and allowed them to continue their traditions –which did not include jury trials or representative assemblies. The colonies misinterpreted this as the flaunting of those two basic establishments of British and colonial government. They saw themselves as the next to have these liberties assaulted. -
Lexington & Concord
A British commander in Boston sent troops into Lexington and Concord to confiscate colonial stores of ammunition and gunpowder. They were also to capture colonial ringleaders (like Samuel Adams and John Hancock). The colonial militia that was waiting for the British soldiers refused to move and so were fired upon. However, the militia ended up sending the British packing back to Boston.
