Colonial_America__Revolutionary_War

Colonial America/The Revolutionary War Jamestown was founded in Virginia, by the London Company in the spring of 1607; it was the first stable settlement in America Effective leadership might have spared Jamestown their hardships. It’s governor, John Smith was injured in a gunpowder explosion and had to return to England in 1609. It wasn’t until 1611 that the London Company supplied a new governor. At the time, there were only four carpenters and there was a huge need for buildings and housing. Most of the 500 colonists that settled in Jamestown for the first few years, died. The London Company’s reform program of 1618 expanded land sales, extended English law and rights to colonists, and allowed settlers to elect a representative assembly. Even an additional 4,000 settlers did not end Virginia’s troubles. Poor treatment of nearby Native Americans results in an attack that cost 350 lives. In 1619 a Dutch warship brought 20 enslaved Africans to Jamestown. Virginia law declared that the status of a newborn child depended on the status of the mother. Slavery became a permanent, inherited comdition. Between 1763, and 1776, many events that would forever change the colonists, and form America itself, had occurred. The American Revolution began in 1763, when the French and Indian War came to an end with the signing of the Treaty of Paris. The Royal Proclamation of 1763 ended all settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains. The governments also maintained thousands of troops along the frontier- as much to protect the Native Americans and the Settlers from each other. The Americans accepted the Royal proclamation at first, but they soon came to oppose it. They argued that the Proclamation deprived them of the land that was there, and that it interfered with the charter rights of colonies whose grants extended “from sea to sea”. This war between Britain and France ended with the victorious British deeply in debt and demanding more revenue from the colonies. With the defeat of the French, the colonies became less dependent on Britain for protection. While Britain did not intend to harm the colonists, many colonists took offense at this order. While triumphant, the war had left Britain’s finances plunging the nation into debt. In an effort to clear these financial burdens, the government in London became exploring various options for raising revenues. Britain thought that the colonies should pay a substantial portion of the costs associated with keeping them in the Empire; they then imposed a series of taxes followed by other laws that angered the colonists greatly. The Sugar Act was introduced in 1776. This act raised revenue by increasing duties on sugar imported from the West Indies. In 1765, the British further angered the colonists by passing the Quartering Act. The act forced American colonists to house and feed British forces that were serving in North America. Soon followed the Stamp Act and the Stamp Act Congress of 1765. The Stamp Act of 1765 required tax stamps on many items and documents including playing cards, newspapers, and marriage licenses. Prime Minister George Grenville stated that this direct tax was intended for the colonies to pay for defence. Previous taxes imposed by Britain had been indirect, or hidden. The Stamp Act Congress of 1765, was when 27 delegates from nine colonies met in New York City and drew up a statement of rights and grievances thereby bringing colonies together in opposition to Britain. Armed clashes between the British and the colonists occurred from the moment British troops were introduced in Boston. Brawls were constant between the British and the colonists, who were consulting the troops. On March 5th, 1770, a crowd of sixty townspeople surrounded British sentries guarding the customs house. In the end, eleven colonists were hit, and five were dead; referred to as the Boston Massacre. December 16th, thousands of Bostonians and farmers from the surrounding countryside packed into the Old South Meeting house to hear Samuel Adams. Adams denounced the Governor for denying clearance for vessels wishing to leave with tea still on board. In anger, colonists boarded three vessels docked in the harbour and threw 90, 000 pounds of tea overboard, known as the Boston Tea Party. Beginning in 1772, out of rebellion, Patriot groups began to create committees, militias, and small governments, which would lead to their own Provincial Congress in most of the colonies. In the course of a few years, the provincial Congresses would eventually take all power over the colonies. Then shortly after, the British imposed the Coercive Intolerable Acts in 1774. These were passed in response to the Boston Tea Party and placed restrictions on the colonists including outlawing town meetings and the closing of the Boston Harbour. In April 1775, British troops were ordered to Lexington and Concord to seize stores of colonial gunpowder and to capture Samuel Adams and John Hancock. At Lexington, open conflict occurred and eight Americans were killed. At Concord, the British troops were forced to retreat with the loss of 70 men. This was the first instance of open warfare. Because the colonies had absolutely no power and no representative in the British Parliament, many colonists considered the laws to be illegitimate and a violation of their rights as Englishmen. But to Britain, they weren’t considered Englishmen. They had no titles, no specialized occupational training, and no education. They were just colonists, used to worked and build the land. Britain had imposed many things upon the colonists, and in a short period of time at that. The colonists were in America for freedom and a new nation. But when Britain started oppressing them, they rebelled, and stood up for their rights, and formed their new, independent nation: America.