1. The Boston Massacre

2. The British in Boston
After the Townshend Acts, British soldiers begin arriving in Boston in 1768.
Their mission is to enforce the law, and to keep the colonists from
rebelling or boycotting
the taxes.

3. Tensions Rise
Boston patriots treat the soldiers like an invading army.
They insult the troops, spit on them, and start fights with them.
British soldiers feel
more and more
threatened over
the coming months.

4. March 5, 1770
That night, a lone British soldier is standing guard at the Boston custom house.
Boston citizens arrive and
begin to taunt the soldier.
More British soldiers arrive
disperse the crowd, but
they are unsuccessful.

5. Massacre In the confusion, British soldiers open fire on the crowd.
Eleven people are shot. Three are killed instantly. Two others die later of their wounds.

6. Different Accounts
American
point of view
British
point of view