Social Studies

The French and Indian War, also dubbed the Seven Years War in Europe, pitted Britain and France against each other in various locations around the world, making it a truly global conflict. However, in the North American theater, both Britain, their colonists and Iroquois allies fought against the French and their Huron and Algonquin allies. Essentially this war was fought for control of the resource rich Ohio River Valley, but in reality much more was at stake. The winner would reign supreme in North America, giving them unrivaled access to the bountiful resources available within the continent. Despite losing many battles in the initial fighting, Britain, aided considerably by colonial militias, rallied back and won the key battles of Quebec and Montreal. These victories allowed Britain to win the war. The conflict concluded with the signing of the Treaty of Paris, a document that drove the French influence from North America almost entirely. In the end Great Britain gained a tremendous amount of land that stretched from the Appalachian Mountains west to the Mississippi River, but it came at a tremendous cost. Britain, who borrowed tremendous amounts of money to fund the war against their rival was plunged deep into economic debt. To recover these funds, the King and Parliament began a heavy campaign of taxation within the 13 Colonies, a decision that would tarnish the relationship between her and her colonies and eventually lead to the American Revolution.

The Proclamation of 1763 followed the French and Indian War. There was conflict with Native Americans in the Ohio River Valley. Great Britain couldn’t afford another war after the last one. Boundary was made down the Appalachian Mountains, where colonists were forbidden west of the line. This was to avoid conflict. Colonists were angered as they won the land through battle. Many people didn’t care about the border and settled west of the line anyway.

The Sugar Act (which was passed on April 5th, 1764) by the British Parliament. It was named the sugar act because of the significant change it made on sugar imports. Britain passed this law to help trade improve, as well as the war and the army. Not many British colonists agreed with this idea, since their money was going to something that they didn’t really agree with. They liked that it gave Britain an advantage,but not that their own money was used. Since it was taken from their own profit, it made their own businesses fail more than usual.

The Stamp Act was passed on March 22nd, 1765 by the 13 colonies. Used to pay for defending and protecting the colonies against the Native Americans. Made colonists pay money for every piece of printed paper that they used. Not many colonists agreed with this idea, which lead to a huge riot in Connecticut.

Townshend Act was a law passed by the British Parliament in 1767, after the new government It took away paper, paint, lead, glass, and tea to save money for the war. Not everyone agreed leading to riots. The biggest riot that it led to was the Boston Massacre. The Boston Massacre was a large riot that happened in 1770 which killed many and caused further tension. British troops and New York City also had a conflict, leading to the confrontation known as the Battle of Golden Hill.

The Boston Massacre occurred on March 5th, 1770 on King Street in Boston. The Boston Massacre started as a small riot, but got intruded by British soldiers. The riot was being held against them, which they were obviously not happy with. The riot ended with many people, innocent protestors, either killed or injured. There were many reports of the event on newspapers such as the Boston Gazette.

The Boston Tea Party occurred on December 16th, 1773. The Boston Tea Party happened in reaction to the Tea Act being passed. Since nobody near the Boston area wanted their job of working with loading and unloading tea anymore, they quit. But there was still more tea coming in that they didn't want to unload. If they didn’t unload the tea, it would be seized and sold to pay custom duties, which they didn’t want. So instead, they threw 10,000 dollars worth of tea into the Boston Harbor to get rid of it.

The Intolerable Acts were five laws that were established after the Boston Tea Party. The first act was the Boston Port Act, where nobody was allowed in the city’s harbor until they paid back East India for the tea that was thrown overboard. The Act for the Impartial Administration of Justice allows the governor to remove any trial of a colonial official for a capital offense. There were a few other laws as well that were made to keep the harbor and the rest of Boston safe from losing money.

Lexington and Concord occurred on April 19th, 1775. Lexington and Concord, also known as The Battles of Lexington and Concord, was fighting that broke out because the British Military Governor of Massachusetts, Thomas Gage, was ordered to take the arms and ammunition from the American Patriots that had been stored in Concord. Almost 700 redcoats marched towards Concord to try to stop them, and also arrest Sam Adams and John Hancock. Two messengers saw and told Adams and Hancock. A loud shot was heard, but nobody knew which side it came from. Each side blamed it on the other. Americans were outnumbered, which left 8 dead, and 10 wounded.