PATH TO REVOLUTION
1763Treaty of Paris - end of 7 Years War
Proclamation of 1763 prevents westward expansion
Tension begins
1764Sugar Act passed (indirect/external tax)
Parliament attempts to enforce all trade laws (Navigation Act) to end
smuggling and corruption
1765Stamp Act passed (1st direct tax)
Colonists send petitions, hold meetings, resistance groups form, tax
collectors are attacked, there is rioting and people ignore the law
1766Stamp Act repealed
1767Townshend Acts (an external tax on items like tea, paint and glass,
and measures taken to strongly enforce the Navigation Acts)
Colonist boycott British goods and begin to intensify colonial
manufacturing. Massachusetts sends a letter to the other colonies saying
this is an infringement of rights - Britain orders their legislature
dissolved
Sept 1768British troops are transferred from the frontier to Boston to stop
mob violence
March 1770The Boston Massacre - both sides are angry but compromise
April 1770Partial repeal of the Townshend Acts
The exception is the 3 penny tax on tea.
BRITAIN ST.
Boston
Boston ball grounds - 1912 (1st part of panorama),...2 years of relative peace follow
and imports of British goods are now 50% higher than before
1772The Gaspee incident
A British patrol boat (The Gaspee) runs aground while chasing smugglers
Locals board it that night and burn it
Britain attempts to take the criminals to court but no one will testify
against them - officials are outraged and the Crown takes control of the
governor's salary
1773The Tea Act crisis
The East India company has a glut of 17 million pounds of tea in England.
The Prime Minister agrees to remit the British tax and allow the tea to be
sold in the colonies with only the 3 p tax on it which reduces the price.
This way they can get rid of it quickly but still make a profit and
Parliament gets to uphold...