Colonial America: British Wars, Taxes, and Resistance, 1688–1773

Glorious Revolution

Revolution that replaced James II with William III and Mary II; strengthened Parliament. 1688-1689

English Bill of Rights

Protected rights such as petitioning the monarch, free parliamentary elections, and limits on cruel punishments. 1689

King William's War

Colonial war connected to the European War of the Grand Alliance; ended with the Treaty of Ryswick. 1689-1697

Queen Anne's War

Colonial war connected to the War of Spanish Succession; ended with the Treaty of Utrecht. 1702-1713

War of Jenkins' Ear

Conflict between Britain and Spain that contributed to fighting in the colonies. 1739-1742

King George's War

Colonial part of the War of Austrian Succession; ended with the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. 1744-1748

Fort Louisbourg

Important French fortress captured by British colonial forces in 1745 and returned to France in 1748.

Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle

Ended King George's War/the war of Austrian succession; Britain returned Louisbourg to France, France returned Madras in India to Britain. 1748

Ohio Company of Virginia

Company seeking land and fur-trade opportunities in the Ohio Valley; its expansion increased conflict with France.

Fort Duquesne

French fort in the Ohio Valley that became a major target during the French and Indian War.

Battle of Jumonville Glen

George Washington's forces clashed with French troops; helped begin the French and Indian War. May 1754

Fort Necessity

Washington's hastily built fort where French forces defeated him. July 1754

Albany Congress

Meeting of colonial representatives to discuss defense and relations with the Iroquois during the French threat. 1754

Benjamin Franklin

Proposed the Albany Plan of Union to coordinate colonial government and defense.

Albany Plan of Union

Franklin's proposal for a unified colonial government and common defense; the colonies rejected it.

Braddock's Defeat (July 1755)

British-led expedition failed near Fort Duquesne; exposed weaknesses in British military strategy.

William Pitt the Elder

British leader who changed war strategy in 1758 and helped turn the French and Indian War toward British victory.

British victories, 1758-1760

Britain captured Louisbourg in 1758, Quebec in 1759, and Montreal in 1760.

Treaty of Paris

Ended the French and Indian War; Britain gained Canada and French territory east of the Mississippi, and Florida from Spain. 1763

Pontiac's Rebellion

Indigenous resistance to British expansion after the French and Indian War. 1760-1763

Proclamation of 1763

British restriction on colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains; angered colonists seeking western land.

Why Britain taxed the colonies after 1763

Britain faced major war debt and wanted the colonies to help pay for defense and imperial costs.

Mercantilism

Economic system in which colonies supplied resources and wealth to benefit the mother country.

Navigation Act of 1660

Required specified colonial goods to be shipped to England or English colonies, generally on English ships.

Navigation Act of 1663

Required many European goods imported into the colonies to pass through English ports.

Navigation Act of 1673

required captains of ships carrying enumerated goods (such as tobacco, sugar, and cotton) to either post a bond that the goods were going straight to England or pay a direct tax

Navigation Act of 1695

Restricted the movement of hard currency; gold and silver were directed toward England.

Molasses Act

Taxed foreign molasses imported into British colonies to favor British West Indian trade. 1733

Sugar Act / Revenue Act

Adjusted duties on sugar and other goods, strengthened customs enforcement, and aimed to raise revenue. 1764

Currency Act

Restricted colonial paper money, making it harder for colonists to pay debts. 1764

Stamp Act

Required an official stamp on many printed materials; a direct tax that affected a broad range of colonists. 1765

Direct tax vs. indirect tax

A direct tax is imposed directly on people or property; an indirect tax is collected through goods or transactions.

Patrick Henry

Virginia leader who opposed the Stamp Act and helped advance the Virginia Resolves.

Virginia Resolves

Argued that Virginians had British rights and could be taxed only by their elected representatives in Virginia. 1765

Sons of Liberty

Resistance group that used protests, intimidation, and sometimes violence against British policies and stamp distributors.

John Locke

Political philosopher whose ideas about liberty and property influenced colonial arguments about rights.

Samuel Adams

Massachusetts patriot and organizer who helped mobilize resistance to British policies. Leader of the sons of liberty

Stamp Act Congress

Meeting of delegates from nine colonies that petitioned against the Stamp Act. October 1765

Quartering Act

Required colonial governments to provide support and housing arrangements for British troops. 1765

Declaratory Act

Repealed the Stamp Act while asserting Parliament's authority to legislate for the colonies in all cases. 1766

Charles Townshend

British politician and Chancellor of the Exchequer best known for proposing the Townshend Acts of 1767

Townshend Duties

Import duties on lead, paint, paper, glass, and tea intended to raise revenue and assert British authority. 1767

Daughters of Liberty

Women who supported resistance through boycotts and production of homemade goods.

Year of Non-Consumption

Period of organized boycotts of British imports to protest taxation. 1769

Boston Massacre

Confrontation in which British soldiers killed several colonists; patriots used it to strengthen anti-British sentiment. March 5 1770

Boston Massacre trial

British soldiers were tried after the confrontation; John Adams defended the soldiers in court.

Tea duty retained

Most Townshend duties were repealed, but the tax on tea remained as an assertion of Parliament's authority. 1770

Gaspée Incident

Colonists attacked and burned a British customs schooner enforcing trade laws near Rhode Island. 1772

Committees of Correspondence

Networks that shared news and helped colonies coordinate resistance to British policies.

Tea Act

Gave the British East India Company advantages in selling tea directly in the colonies while retaining the tea tax. 1773

British East India Company

Company given an advantage in colonial tea sales under the Tea Act of 1773.

Boston Tea Party

Protest in which colonists dumped tea from British ships into Boston Harbor. December 16th 1773

Coercive Acts / Intolerable Acts

Punitive British laws passed in response to the Boston Tea Party, especially targeting Massachusetts. 1774

Boston Port Act

Closed Boston Harbor until the destroyed tea was paid for.

Massachusetts Government Act

Changed Massachusetts government to increase British control and restrict local self-government.

Impartial Administration of Justice Act

Allowed certain British officials accused of crimes to be tried outside Massachusetts.

Amended Quartering Act

Expanded British authority concerning the housing of troops. 1774

Quebec Act

Expanded Quebec's territory and established policies that angered many colonists; grouped with the Intolerable Acts in colonial resistance. 1774

Thomas Gage

British general and governor of Massachusetts during the escalating colonial crisis.

First Continental Congress

Meeting of colonial delegates that coordinated a response to British policies and the Intolerable Acts. 1774

Conciliatory Proposition

British proposal offering a possible compromise over colonial taxation, intended to reduce resistance. 1775

Lexington and Concord

Battles that began open fighting between British troops and colonial militia in the American Revolution. April 1775

Second Continental Congress

Meeting that directed the colonial war effort and served as a national governing body. 1775

Patriots

Colonists who supported resistance to British rule and increasingly favored independence.

Loyalists

Colonists who remained loyal to the British Crown.

Colonial split

Colonists disagreed over resistance; some supported independence, some remained loyal, and others were undecided.

Republican virtues

Values emphasized in the material: self-reliance, independence, honesty, hard work, and thrift.

Cause of the French and Indian War

French and British competition for land and trade, especially in the Ohio Valley.

Cause-and-effect: war debt

French and Indian War → British debt → new colonial taxes and enforcement → colonial resistance.

Cause-and-effect: Stamp Act

Stamp Act → Virginia Resolves, Sons of Liberty, and Stamp Act Congress → repeal, followed by Declaratory Act.

Cause-and-effect: Townshend Duties

Townshend Duties → boycotts and non-consumption → most duties repealed in 1770, but tea duty remained.

Cause-and-effect: Boston Tea Party

Tea Act and anger over taxation → Boston Tea Party → Intolerable Acts → wider colonial cooperation.

Cause-and-effect: Lexington and Concord

British-colonial tensions and resistance escalated → British troops confronted militia → open Revolutionary War began.