The Colonists Resist Tighter Control
A Portrait of Crispus Attucks Being Shot In the Boston Massacre
Pontiac’s War
• After the war, Britain
continues to struggle with
the Native Americans on
the frontier
• Pontiac, a leader of the
Ottawa nation, destroyed
British forts and killed
2000 settlers in 1763
igniting Pontiac’s War
• Because of this, the
British will seek ways to
prevent future conflict
Chief Pontiac
The Proclamation of 1763
• In order to prevent any
further conflicts, Britain
passed the Proclamation
of 1763 which prevented
colonists moving west of
the Appalachian
mountains
• This angered many
colonists who felt like
they could go where they
want. Ultimately Britain
could not enforce this
The Proclamation Line of 1763
British Rule Leads to Conflict
• The British Perspective:
– Britain protected the
colonists against the
French and Natives
– Felt like the colonists
should pay their fair share
of the war expenses
– Needed to keep troops in
North America to prevent
France from regaining its
territories
• The American Perspective:
– Proud of their contribution
to winning the French and
Indian War
– Expected Britain to be
grateful and expected
minimum taxes
– Increasingly identified with
one another rather than
Britain
Acts Passed by the British Trying to
Control the Colonies
• The Sugar Act (1764) – put a duty on many
sugar products, harsh penalties for smugglers
• The Quartering Act (1765) – Britain kept
10,000 soldiers in the colonies, colonists had
to quarter (house) them, feed them, supply
them
• The Stamp Act (1765) – required colonists to buy
special stamps for all kinds of products and
activities (newspapers, wills, licenses)
The Colonists’ Response to Britain’s
Attempt at Tighter Control
• Protests were widespread and the colonies began to
boycott British products
• The colonies also formed the Stamp Act Congress
where they sent a petition to the King and
Parliament
• The protests worked. The Stamp Act was
repealed in 1766. However, Britain was
determined to control their colonies (Declaratory
Act)
The Townshend Acts (1767) and the
Writs of Assistance (1767)
• The British wanted to enact taxes that would
not upset the colonists, so the Townshend
Acts taxed goods coming into the colonies
rather than goods in the colonies
• Also the Writs of Assistance allowed Britain to
search the colonists without saying what they
were looking for
• Colonial assemblies were suspended and the
colonists continued to protest
The Boston Massacre (1770)
• The protests worked
and Britain repealed all
taxes – except the one
on tea
• The Parliament was too
slow. On March 5th
1770 a crowd in Boston
confronted British
soldiers and 5 colonists
were killed and 6 were
wounded
The Boston Massacre as Depicted by Paul
Revere
Boston Massacre Impact
• Tension between the colonists and Britain is at
an all time high
• Most of the British soldiers were found
innocent after being defended by colonial
lawyer John Adams
• Colonial leaders (led by Samuel Adams, John’s
cousin) formed the Committees of
Correspondence to keep colonists informed
(helped unite the colonies)