The Boston Massacre (1770)
“From the moment the British decided to send troops to Boston it was only a matter of time before British troops were likely to clash with the colonists. That day came on March 5th 1770. In that early evening a British sentry was guarding the custom house on King Street, (what is today ‘State Street’ in downtown Boston.) Colonists began to taunt the sentry. Soon a crowd grew. With the crowd growing, the Officer of the Day, Captain Thomas Preston, ordered seven or eight soldiers under his command to support the sentry. Preston soon followed. By the time the additional troops arrived the crowd had grown to between 300 and 400 hundred men. The ever-growing crowd continued to taunt the British soldiers whose muskets were loaded. The crowd then began pelting the sentries with snowballs.
“A colonist knocked one of the soldiers down. As the soldier got up, he fired his musket, and then yelled "D - - n you, fire". There was a pause and then the British soldiers fired on the colonists. Three Americans-- rope maker Samuel Gray, mariner James Caldwell, and an African American sailor named Crispus Attucks died instantly. Samuel Maverick, struck by a ricocheting musket ball at the back of the crowd, died a few hours later in the early morning of the next day. Thirty-year-old Irish immigrant Patrick Carr died two weeks later.
“This event quickly became known as ‘the Boston Massacre’. Thanks to the efforts of Boston engraver, Paul Revere, who copied a drawing made by Henry Pelham, the illustration of the above events soon made its way throughout the colonies. The illustration stirred the anger of Americans towards the British. Captain Preston and four of his men were arrested and charged with manslaughter.
“The soldiers were tried in open court, with John Adams acting as one of the Defense Attorneys. Preston was found ‘not guilty’, as it became clear it was unlikely that he gave the order to fire. The other soldiers were found guilty of manslaughter and punished by having their thumbs branded.”
Townshend Act Repealed (1770)
“The colonial boycott of British goods hurt British merchants in London and beyond. They began petitioning the government to overturn the Townshend Custom Duties. On March 5, 1770 debates began in the English parliament on whether or not to overturn the taxes. The government was willing to remove the taxes on everything but tea. Tea, they argued, was not grown in the England and thus the tariff would not hurt British merchants. In addition to that fact, the money was needed. More importantly, the British government wished to maintain the principal that their parliament had the right to tax the colonies.
“During the course of the debate the opposition introduced a resolution calling for the duties on tea to be dropped as well. However, that resolution was defeated by the representatives of the government in parliament by a vote of 204 to 142. As a result, on April 9th, the British parliament voted to eliminate the duty on everything but tea.
"The British decision to eliminate the tariff on everything but tea, was too little, too late. By reiterating their claim to be able to tax the colonists, and by not rescinding other aspects of the Townshend Acts, such as the independent Customs Authority, instead of calming the colonial waters, the British only further inflamed them.”
Cutter Gaspee Burned (1772)
“The Gaspee was a hated British revenue schooner. On June 9, 1772 Captain Thomas Lindsay commanded the Hannah set forth from Newport to Providence. He was afraid he would be stopped by the hated Gaspee commanded by Lieutenant William Dudinsgston, and vowed not to let the Gaspee stop her. Lindsay lured the Gaspee into following him into shallow waters and the Gaspee ran aground. When news that the hated Gaspee had run aground galvanized Americans to act. A group of 60 men led by Captain Whipple set off to where the Gaspee was located. When they arrived they overwhelmed the small crew, forced it and its captain to surrender. They then set the ship afire.”
The Boston Tea Party (1773)
“Relations between the Colonists and the British had barely recovered from the Gaspee incident, when the British severely miscalculated, once again. They forced the Americans to accept a monopoly on the importation of tea. The sole source for tea was to be the British East India Company. Furthermore, they gave merchants in Boston, who were supporters of the British government, the exclusive contract to be the representatives of that tea company. Adding insult to injury, tea was the one item from which the British had not removed tariffs when they repealed the Townshend Act.
“The Colonists were united in their opposition to the importation of tea. Thomas Hutchison wrote to Lord Dartmouth: ‘The people of Boston, and all the neighboring towns, are raised to the highest degree of opposition to the duty on tea.’
“On November 3rd, members of the Sons of Liberty met at the liberty tree in Boston and marched to the offices of the merchants that represented the East India Company. They demanded that the firm refuse to import the tea when it arrived. When the merchants refused, a mob threatened them.
“Throughout the colonies, tea agents under pressure from local patriots, resigned their commissions to sell tea. In most parts of the colonies the ships carrying tea turned around before arriving in America. In Boston, however, the governor was committed to forcing the issue and landing the tea.
“Four ships were due to arrive in Boston with tea. The first was the Dartmouth. One of the ships was lost in a storm on the way. Governor Hutchison ordered the British Naval Commander to block the entrance to the harbor to stop the ships from departing. Large crowds met at Faneuil Hall, at a meeting called by Samuel Adams, on November 29, 1773. The colonists demanded that the tea be returned. The ship's captain finally agreed. However, the governor would not hear of it. On December 16th, the last day the tea could be downloaded and tax paid or the cargo forfeited, 7,000 people gathered at another meeting held Old South Meeting House. Once again, this meeting was called by Samuel Adams. It was clear the governor would not budge. Samuel Adams announced at the meeting they could do nothing more to save the country.
“As the meeting ended, a group of men made their way to the harbor dressed as Mohawk Indians. In small boats, they rowed out to the ships holding the tea. The men demanded access to the tea, which they promptly dumped into Boston Harbor. The tea would not be landed and the tax was not paid.”
(Note: Unless otherwise stated, the historical information presented in quotations comes from www.historycentral.com.)
“A colonist knocked one of the soldiers down. As the soldier got up, he fired his musket, and then yelled "D - - n you, fire". There was a pause and then the British soldiers fired on the colonists. Three Americans-- rope maker Samuel Gray, mariner James Caldwell, and an African American sailor named Crispus Attucks died instantly. Samuel Maverick, struck by a ricocheting musket ball at the back of the crowd, died a few hours later in the early morning of the next day. Thirty-year-old Irish immigrant Patrick Carr died two weeks later.
“This event quickly became known as ‘the Boston Massacre’. Thanks to the efforts of Boston engraver, Paul Revere, who copied a drawing made by Henry Pelham, the illustration of the above events soon made its way throughout the colonies. The illustration stirred the anger of Americans towards the British. Captain Preston and four of his men were arrested and charged with manslaughter.
“The soldiers were tried in open court, with John Adams acting as one of the Defense Attorneys. Preston was found ‘not guilty’, as it became clear it was unlikely that he gave the order to fire. The other soldiers were found guilty of manslaughter and punished by having their thumbs branded.”
Townshend Act Repealed (1770)
“The colonial boycott of British goods hurt British merchants in London and beyond. They began petitioning the government to overturn the Townshend Custom Duties. On March 5, 1770 debates began in the English parliament on whether or not to overturn the taxes. The government was willing to remove the taxes on everything but tea. Tea, they argued, was not grown in the England and thus the tariff would not hurt British merchants. In addition to that fact, the money was needed. More importantly, the British government wished to maintain the principal that their parliament had the right to tax the colonies.
“During the course of the debate the opposition introduced a resolution calling for the duties on tea to be dropped as well. However, that resolution was defeated by the representatives of the government in parliament by a vote of 204 to 142. As a result, on April 9th, the British parliament voted to eliminate the duty on everything but tea.
"The British decision to eliminate the tariff on everything but tea, was too little, too late. By reiterating their claim to be able to tax the colonists, and by not rescinding other aspects of the Townshend Acts, such as the independent Customs Authority, instead of calming the colonial waters, the British only further inflamed them.”
Cutter Gaspee Burned (1772)“The Gaspee was a hated British revenue schooner. On June 9, 1772 Captain Thomas Lindsay commanded the Hannah set forth from Newport to Providence. He was afraid he would be stopped by the hated Gaspee commanded by Lieutenant William Dudinsgston, and vowed not to let the Gaspee stop her. Lindsay lured the Gaspee into following him into shallow waters and the Gaspee ran aground. When news that the hated Gaspee had run aground galvanized Americans to act. A group of 60 men led by Captain Whipple set off to where the Gaspee was located. When they arrived they overwhelmed the small crew, forced it and its captain to surrender. They then set the ship afire.”
The Boston Tea Party (1773)
“Relations between the Colonists and the British had barely recovered from the Gaspee incident, when the British severely miscalculated, once again. They forced the Americans to accept a monopoly on the importation of tea. The sole source for tea was to be the British East India Company. Furthermore, they gave merchants in Boston, who were supporters of the British government, the exclusive contract to be the representatives of that tea company. Adding insult to injury, tea was the one item from which the British had not removed tariffs when they repealed the Townshend Act.
“The Colonists were united in their opposition to the importation of tea. Thomas Hutchison wrote to Lord Dartmouth: ‘The people of Boston, and all the neighboring towns, are raised to the highest degree of opposition to the duty on tea.’
“On November 3rd, members of the Sons of Liberty met at the liberty tree in Boston and marched to the offices of the merchants that represented the East India Company. They demanded that the firm refuse to import the tea when it arrived. When the merchants refused, a mob threatened them.
“Throughout the colonies, tea agents under pressure from local patriots, resigned their commissions to sell tea. In most parts of the colonies the ships carrying tea turned around before arriving in America. In Boston, however, the governor was committed to forcing the issue and landing the tea.
“Four ships were due to arrive in Boston with tea. The first was the Dartmouth. One of the ships was lost in a storm on the way. Governor Hutchison ordered the British Naval Commander to block the entrance to the harbor to stop the ships from departing. Large crowds met at Faneuil Hall, at a meeting called by Samuel Adams, on November 29, 1773. The colonists demanded that the tea be returned. The ship's captain finally agreed. However, the governor would not hear of it. On December 16th, the last day the tea could be downloaded and tax paid or the cargo forfeited, 7,000 people gathered at another meeting held Old South Meeting House. Once again, this meeting was called by Samuel Adams. It was clear the governor would not budge. Samuel Adams announced at the meeting they could do nothing more to save the country.“As the meeting ended, a group of men made their way to the harbor dressed as Mohawk Indians. In small boats, they rowed out to the ships holding the tea. The men demanded access to the tea, which they promptly dumped into Boston Harbor. The tea would not be landed and the tax was not paid.”
(Note: Unless otherwise stated, the historical information presented in quotations comes from www.historycentral.com.)
No comments:
Post a Comment