British North America & The American Revolution American & British Influences on Canadian History

British Colonial Policy, British troops did most of fighting in Seven Years' War British taxpayers paid cost of war Britain's main goal after war: Recover cost of fighting Seven Years' War through two colonial policies: A) Introduce a series of taxes in Thirteen Colonies B) Tighten controls on colonial trade, increasing revenue through rigid enforcement of imperial customs duties and regulations

British Colonial Policy, Britain introduces several measures in 1760's to achieve these goals 1) Stamp Act (1765): tax on colonial newspapers & legal documents First direct tax levied on colonies by British Parliament 13 Colonies respond with protests and demonstrations "No taxation without representation" becomes the rallying cry of colonial opposition to British policy Emergence of colonial leaders:- newspaper editors & lawyers

British Colonial Policy, : British Parliament repeals Stamp Act, but publicly declares its right to impose laws on its colonies 2) Quartering Act (1765): British troops can be billeted in private homes & inns, with costs paid by colonial governments An attempt to reduce cost of maintaining British troops in the colonies Viewed by colonists as violation of their rights as private citizens

British Colonial Policy, ) Townshend Duties (1767): Customs duties levied on all colonial imports of glass, paints, paper and tea Traditional imperial right to tax trade within empire Duties created renewed colonial protests and calls for boycott of British goods Colonial merchants angered, creating more potential leaders for colonial revolt

British Colonial Policy, Boston Massacre (1770): first bloodshed as British troops shoot and kill several colonists angrily protesting against customs duties Britain repeals all duties except tax on tea - a sign of British weakness? Boston emerging as focal point of resistance to British policies "Boston Tea Party" (1774): Radical colonial leaders board British ships in Boston harbor and dump cargo of tea overboard

British Colonial Policy, British response: Coercive Acts (1774) - a series of laws intended to crush colonial opposition to British policy Port of Boston closed to commercial traffic Massachusetts colonial government suspended Large number of British troops stationed in Boston to maintain order Quebec Act (1774) gives Ohio valley territory to colony of Quebec, further angering colonists

British Colonial Policy, Colonial response: first "Continental Congress" held in Philadelphia Delegates from all 13 Colonies agree to boycott British goods Continued presence of British troops in Boston intensifies tensions April 1775: British General Sir Thomas Gage orders British soldiers to seize colonial militia's cache of arms at Concord (outside Boston) British troops blocked by colonial militia at Lexington First shots of American Revolution fired on Lexington Common

British Colonial Policy, Colonial response: Second Continental Congress held in Philadelphia Congress authorizes recruitment of colonial army, under the command of General George Washington June 1775: Colonial troops drive British forces out of Boston at Battle of Bunker Hill After one year of increasing tension and conflict, the Continental Congress delegates approve the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776 Six years of war follow before the American colonies succeed in defeating British forces in America

The American Revolutionary War, Congress authorizes American invasion of Quebec (late 1775), believing French Canadians would support their revolution Colonial army captures Montreal & lays seige to Quebec Arrival of British reinforcements in spring 1776 and failure of French Canadians to support American cause forces colonial army to retreat British forces fail to capitalize on opportunity to defeat retreating American forces at crucial early stage of revolution 1777: Colonial army defeats British forces at Saratoga in first significant victory

The American Revolutionary War, Colonial victory at Saratoga persuades France to support American colonies (important source of supplies, naval strength) Four years of indecisive battles end in 1781, with British defeat and surrender at Battle of Yorktown Two years of negotiation lead to Treaty of Paris (1783) Britain recognizes its 13 Colonies as a sovereign nation, the United States of America Britain concedes all its territory south of the Great Lakes and east of Mississippi River to the US British North America now consists of Quebec and Nova Scotia, a largely uninhabited wilderness