- Britain's victory in the war left them with a massive debt, which
they attempted to repay by imposing taxes on the colonies. This
led to increased resentment among the colonists.
- The war also heightened tensions between Britain and Native American
tribes, as the British tried to expand their territory westward.
2. The Stamp Act (1765):
- The British Parliament passed the Stamp Act, which required that
all paper goods be stamped with a tax stamp. This was one of the
first direct taxes imposed on the colonies by Britain, and it sparked
wide-scale protests.
3. The Boston Massacre (1770):
- British troops fired on a crowd of colonists in Boston, killing five
people. The incident further inflamed tensions between the colonists
and the British.
4. The Boston Tea Party (1773):
- In response to the Tea Act, which granted the British East India
Company a monopoly on the sale of tea in the colonies, colonists
disguised themselves as Native Americans and dumped a shipment of
tea into Boston Harbor.
5. The Intolerable Acts (1774):
- Parliament passed the Intolerable Acts in retaliation for the Boston
Tea Party. These acts further restricted the rights of the colonists
and increased their anger towards British rule.
6. The Battles of Lexington and Concord (1775):
- The first military engagements of the American Revolution occurred
when British troops marched to Concord to seize an arms cache. The
colonists were waiting for them, and the militias of several
Massachusetts towns engaged the British in a running battle from
Lexington to Concord. This marked the beginning of the armed conflict
between Britain and the colonies.
7. The Declaration of Independence (1776):
- The Continental Congress issued the Declaration of Independence,
formally declaring the thirteen colonies' independence from Britain.
This was a significant political and ideological turning point in the
Revolution.
8. The Battle of Saratoga (1777):
- The American victory at Saratoga was a major turning point in the
war, as it convinced France to enter the conflict on the side of the
colonists. France provided critical military and financial support
that helped the Americans win the war.
9. The Treaty of Paris (1783):
- The Treaty of Paris officially ended the American Revolution and
recognized the independence of the United States. The treaty
established the boundaries of the new nation and granted Americans
the right to fish in the waters off Canada.