Timeline of the American Revolution—timeline of the political upheaval culminating in the 18th century in whichThirteen Colonies inNorth America joined for independence from theBritish Empire, and after victory in theRevolutionary War combined to form theUnited States of America. TheAmerican Revolution includes political, social, and military aspects. The revolutionary era is generally considered to have begun in the wake of theFrench and Indian War (1754-1763), as the British government abandoned its longstanding practice ofsalutary neglect of the colonies, now seeking greater control over them. Ten thousand regular British army troops were left stationed in North America after the war ended. Parliament passed measures to increase revenues from the colonies. TheStamp Act in 1765 and ended with the ratification of theUnited States Bill of Rights in 1791. The military phase of the revolution, theAmerican Revolutionary War, lasted from 1775 to 1783, but the land war effectively ended with the British surrender atYorktown, Virginia October 19, 1781. Britain continued the international conflict after Yorktown, fighting naval engagements with France and Spain until the signing of thePeace Treaty of Paris in 1783. Historical background to the break between theThirteen Colonies and Britain includes a chronology of the dynasties of Britain, ideas of kingship, its relation to Parliament; establishment of colonies with assemblies ruling local affairs, including taxation. British American colonists had the historical example a century before,1649-1660, Commonwealth of England, the Interregnum.Charles I had ruled as an autocrat, without Parliament, and abused power. Wars ensued, which the king lost. Parliament put him on trial and executed him, establishing a republic with a written constitution. American colonists in the 18th century saw the erosion of their rights as freeborn English subjects, which were enshrined in English law, particularly theMagna Carta (1215),Habeas corpus, and theEnglish Bill of Rights (1689).
Magna Carta ("Great Charter"). Rebellious barons forcedJohn I of England to sign the charter which defined and limited the power of monarch and established that the monarch was not above the law. It mandated the prompt administration of justice, forbade the sale of justice, and established the principle of due process. Power was to be exercised with consent. It forbade the king from introducing new forms of taxation without consent. Although King John almost immediately repudiated it, saying he had signed it under duress, but he died shortly therafter. His sonHenry III affirmed Magna Carta in 1225 with some changed language, explicitly of his volition. It was reissued at intervals over the years, as a fundamental document protecting English rights. When American colonists fought against Britain, they were fighting not so much for new freedom, but to preserve liberties and rights that they believed to be enshrined in Magna Carta.[3]
First voyages of exploration by Portugal and Spain; voyage ofChristopher Columbus, claiming sovereignty for Spain in the Western Hemisphere; division of the world between Portugal and Spain with theTreaty of Tordesillas(1494); first English voyages of exploration
Henry VIII peacefully succeeds to the English throne, age 17, following the death of his father,Henry VII.
Henry VIII marriesCatherine of Aragon, his late brother's widow, five years his senior. Catherine's many pregnancies produce a daughter.Princess Mary, but no male heir. No woman had ever succeeded to the English throne, and prospect of it was a disputed succession, civil war, or domination by a foreign power through marriage.[4]
English Reformation Parliament begins meeting 3 November 1529, lasting until 14 April 1536; established the legal basis for theEnglish Reformation, passing major pieces oflegislation leading to the break with Rome and increasing the authority of theChurch of England. Under Henry VIII's direction, the Reformation Parliament was the first in English history to deal with major religious legislation, transferring many aspects of English life away from the control of the Catholic Church to control underThe Crown, and setting a precedent for future monarchs to utilize parliamentary statutes affecting theChurch of England. It strengthened the role of theEnglish Parliament and resulted in a massive transfer of wealth from the Catholic Church to the English Crown.
Henry VIII dies, succeeded by his Protestant young sonEdward VI byJane Seymour, who dies before he reaches his majority and rule in his own right.
Edward's reign was marked by many economic problems and social unrest that in 1549 erupted into riot and rebellion. An expensivewar withScotland, at first successful, ended with military withdrawal from Scotland andBoulogne-sur-Mer in exchange for peace. The transformation of theChurch of England into a recognizably Protestant body also occurred under Edward, who even as a youth took great interest in religious matters. Although Henry VIII had severed the link between the English Church and Rome it continued to uphold mostCatholic doctrine and ceremony. During Edward's reign, Protestantism wasestablished for the first time in England, with reforms that included the abolition ofclerical celibacy and theMass and the imposition of compulsory English rather than Latin in church services.
Edward VI dies, age 15. Succession is complicated because his older, half-sister Mary is Catholic.
Mary I of England, oldest child of Henry VIII, daughter ofCatherine of Aragon, succeeds to the throne. She is the firstruling queen in English history. She attempts to return England to Catholicism and restore church properties that her father Henry VIII had confiscated.
Mary I wedsPhilip II of Spain; the marriage is childless. Her death in 1558 ends the attempt to restore Catholicism in England.
Elizabeth I, Protestant, daughter ofAnne Boleyn succeeds to the throne as a ruling queen, reigning 44 years. She never marries, leaving succession in doubt. England begins explorations in North America, aiming at planting colonies on the fringes of Spain's Empire.
Act of Supremacy, the act of Parliament restoring the English monarch and successors as head of the Church, reversing the policy of Mary I, and restoring Protestantism.
Protestant Plantations of settlers in Ireland, 1550-1610
Elizabeth I greatly expands the Tudor conquest of Ireland, aiming to subjugate the entire island and maintain it as a primitive economy with England supplying manufactured goods; beginning of plantation of Protestant settlers.
Elizabeth I grants a charter to SirHumphrey Gilbert to explore and colonize territories "unclaimed by Christian kingdoms". The terms of the charter granted by the Queen were vague, although Gilbert understood it to give him rights to all territory in theNew World north ofSpanish Florida. Led by Gilbert, the English briefly claimedSt. John's, Newfoundland, in 1583, as the first English territory in North America at the royal prerogative of Queen Elizabeth I, but Gilbert was lost at sea on his return journey to England.
Richard Hakluyt writesA Particuler Discourse Concerninge the Greate Necessitie and Manifolde Commodyties That Are Like to Growe to This Realme of Englande by the Westerne Discoueries Lately Attempted, Written in the Yere 1584, commissionedSir Walter Raleigh and presented to the Queen. His objective was to recommend the enterprise of establishing Englishplantations in the region of North America not yet colonized by Europeans, and thus gain the Queen's support forRaleigh's expedition.
Roanoke Colony, two failed attempts bySir Walter Raleigh to found the first permanent English settlement in North America. The first colony was established atRoanoke Island in 1585 as a military outpost, and was evacuated in 1586. The more famous second colony, known as theLost Colony, began when a new group of settlers underJohn White arrived on the island in 1587; a relief ship in 1590 found the colony mysteriously abandoned. The fate of the 112 to 121 colonists remains unknown.
Welsh colonistSir William Herbert plants a Protestant colony in Ireland; he had been granted lands confiscated from the Irish Catholic nobleGerald Fitzgerald, 15th Earl of Desmond. Herbert wrote a defense of colonization in Ireland,Croftus Sive de Hibernia Liber. He warned that colonists should not mix with the indigenous population, and urged the former to compel the latter to assimilate to the colonizers' culture.[5]
Thomas Harriot publishedA Briefe and True Report of the New Found Land of Virginia, an account of his voyage toRoanoke; contains an early account of theNative American population encountered by the expedition; it proved very influential upon later English explorers and colonists.
House of Stuart rules England, Scotland, and Ireland; successful overseas colonies established; settlement of Protestants in majority Catholic Ireland, England's first colony; successful overseas English settlements established in North America and the Caribbean.
John Rolfe, Virginia settler who married Native AmericanPocahontas, successfully cultivates a strain of tobacco that appeals to English tastes; it became the cash crop central to the Virginia economy throughout the whole colonial era.
Depiction (1921) of the first meeting of the Virginia assembly
House of Burgesses established, the first representative legislature in the Americas, meeting in Jamestown, Virginia, (July 19) The (Thirteen Colonies) were part of the emerging English empire and all had elected assemblies with a broad suffrage for free, white, male colonists.
Tobacco, enslaved African workers, English colonist (ca. 1750)
First enslaved Africans arrive in Virginia, August. Slavery came to exist in allThirteen Colonies and continued after the establishment of the United States. In Virginia, tobacco as acash crop and the use of enslaved Africans made the Virginia colony flourish economically.
Petition of Right (7 June 1628), is an English constitutional document setting out specific individual protections against the state. It was part of a wider conflict betweenParliament and the Charles I. The king had imposed "forced loans", and imprisoned those who refused to pay, without trial. He used ofmartial law to force private citizens to feed, clothe and accommodate soldiers and sailors, implying that the king could deprive any individual of property, or freedom, without justification. The House of Commons and the House of Lords united to stop the king's abuse of power.
John Winthrop leadsPuritan settlers to Massachusetts Bay."Great Migration" of Puritans begins, with some 21,000 English men and women migrating by 1642. They come in family groups for religious reasons.
English Civil War breaks out, bloody conflict between Royalists supportingCharles I of England andRoundheads supporting Parliament. Establishment in 1645 by Parliament of theNew Model Army, astanding army whose recruits were liable for military service anywhere they are ordered rather than just locally.
Trial of Charles IFlag of the CommonwealthOliver Cromwell, Lord Protector, 1653–58Coat of Arms of the Protectorate, 1653–59
Trial of Charles I for treason by an ad hoc High Court, found guilty, and publiclyexecuted by beheading.Oliver Cromwell is among those signing the death warrant. 30 January. Charles claimed the court had no jurisdiction to try him, asserting he ruled bydivine right. The trial and execution of Charles I remain pivotal events that challenged the traditional ideas of monarchy.Patrick Henry references Charles I's fate in his "Give me liberty or give me death" speech.
Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland, republic established 19 May 1649 by Parliament, lasting until 1660, when the monarchy is restored. It was England's first and only republic.
Maryland Toleration Act 1649, established religious toleration for all Christians, including Catholics. The colony was founded as a refuge for Catholics and protections continued during the Commonwealth.
Cromwell reforms the navy, increasing the number of ships, promoting officers on merit rather than family connections, and cracking down on embezzlement by suppliers and dockyard staff, thereby positioning England to mount a global challenge to Dutch mercantile dominance.
First Anglo-Dutch War 1652–53. The Commonwealth challenges theDutch Republic, seeking to weaken it as a commercial power and carrier of goods.
Instrument of Government, first written constitution for England, Scotland, Ireland and overseas possessions adopted 15 December 1653. Power was formally split.
Executive power was held by theLord Protector. The post was elective, not hereditary, but appointment was to be held for life.
Legislation was raised in Parliament. These had to be called triennially, with each sitting for at least five months.
Provision for a standing army was made "of 10,000 horse and dragoons, and 20,000 foot, in England, Scotland and Ireland, for the defense and security thereof" and "a convenient number of ships for guarding of the seas" (XXVII).
Permanent intolerance of Roman Catholicism.
First Families of Virginia arrive 1647–60. Major migration of royalists fleeing the Commonwealth of England. Virginia comes to be known as the "Old Dominion" for its loyalty to the crown.
TheWestern Design was Cromwell's policy to seize Spanish possessions in the Caribbean and establish Protestant colonies, sending a major fleet of warships and significant manpower.Capture of Jamaica from Spain after England's failure to takeHispaniola. May 1655. Jamaica becomes Britain's richest possession, producing sugar with black slave labor.
Jews allowed to settle inNewport, Rhode Island, a major center of colonial trade. 1658.
Restoration of the Stuart monarchy,Charles II returns from European exile
Declaration of Breda (4 April 1660) Charles promises a general pardon for crimes committed during theEnglish Civil War and theInterregnum for all those who recognized Charles as the lawful king;religious toleration; and the payment ofarrears to members of the army, and that the army would be recommissioned into service under the crown.
King Philip's War was an armed conflict in 1675–1678 in New England between a group ofindigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands against the EnglishNew England Colonies and their indigenous allies. The colonies assembled the largest army that New England had yet mustered, consisting of 1,000 militia and 150 Native allies. The war caused enormous loss of life and tremendous damage economically. The war was the last-ditch effort by Native tribes to expel the colonists from New England, which instead helped create an independent American identity. The New England colonists fought the war themselves without support from any European government or military, giving them a group identity separate and distinct from England.
Bacon's Rebellion, an armed rebellion by Virginia settlers against GovernorWilliam Berkeley for his failure to drive Native Americans from the colony's frontiers; rebels torch the capital of Jamestown.
Habeas Corpus Act 1679 was passed by Parliament to define and strengthen the ancient prerogative writ ofhabeas corpus, which required a court to examine the lawfulness of a prisoner's detention and thus prevent unlawful or arbitrary imprisonment.
Exclusion Crisis during the reign of KingCharles II of England bills in Parliament sought to exclude the King's brother andheir presumptive,James, Duke of York, from succession to the throne because he was aRoman Catholic. Although none of the bills became law, two new parties formed. TheTories were opposed to this exclusion, were generally conservative. The other party, while theWhigs, supported it. Whigs later became important supporters of the American colonists' position in opposition to actions of the monarch.
Royal Charter arrives in Boston establishingthe Dominion of New England in America (May 14), centralizing the administration of formerly separate crown colonies in New England and the Middle colonies during the reign ofJames II of England
Glorious Revolution or theRevolution of 1688, the ouster of CatholicJames II of England as monarch by Protestant royalsWilliam III, James II's nephew, andMary II, James II's daughter, becoming joint monarchs, but with power held by Parliament.
Allegory of the English Bill of Rights, with Wm. III and Mary II signing the document
English Bill of Rights, the Act of Parliament, enumerating basiccivil rights and changed the succession to theEnglish Crown, requiring Protestant succession. It remains a crucialstatute inEnglish constitutional law. It sets out a constitutional requirement for the Crown to seek the consent of the people as represented in Parliament; sets limits on the powers of the monarch; it established the supremacy of Parliament, including regular parliaments, free elections, andparliamentary privilege. It also listed individual rights, including the prohibition ofcruel and unusual punishment and the right not to pay taxes levied without the approval of Parliament. The Bill of Rights receivedroyal assent on 16 December 1689.
1689 Boston revolt, Leaders of the formerMassachusetts Bay Colony reclaim control of the government. In other colonies, members of governments displaced return to power (April 18)
John Locke anonymously publishesTwo Treatises of Government. TheSecond Treatise outlines Locke's ideas for a more civilized society based on natural rights and contract theory. The book is a key foundational and influential text in the theory ofliberalism.
Royal charter formally establishing theProvince of Massachusetts Bay (Oct 7). Major change in voter eligibility requirements from religious qualifications to land ownership, greatly enlarging the number of men eligible to vote. The charter guarantees freedom of worship for all Protestants, but not Catholics. Major change from election of senior government officials to crown appointment, including governor, lieutenant governor, and judges. The legislative assembly continued to be elected and was responsible for choosing members of the Governor's Council. The governor had veto power over laws passed by the assembly and appointments to the council. These rules differed in important ways from the royal charters enjoyed by the other New England colonies. The most important were that the assembly now possessed the power of appropriation, and that the council was locally chosen and not appointed by either the governor or the Crown, significantly weakening the governor's power.
Darien scheme in Panama, a disastrous Scots colonization project. Barred by the English from participating in their colonies or trading with them, Scots embarked on colonization via theCompany of Scotland Trading to Africa and the Indies, with large and small investors. When the colony failed, the financial impact in Scotland was horrendous. The failure made Scotland agree to theAct of Union (1707) that dissolved Scotland's parliament and join with England, forming Great Britain.
English settlers in North America reach 200,000; French settlement in New France is no more than 12,000. The rest of North America is claimed by a waningSpanish Empire.[7]
Act of Settlement mandated that succession to the English and Irish crowns to Protestants only, specifically also disqualifying anyone who became a Roman Catholic, or who married one. It had the effect of deposing the remaining descendants of Charles I, other than his Protestant granddaughter Anne, as the next Protestant in line to inherit to inherit the throne.
Anne, Queen of Great Britain was daughter ofJames II of England. Raised a Protestant, she the last of theHouse of Stuart to rule England, Scotland, and Ireland. Despite 17 pregnancies, she did not birth a living heir. Her death triggered a succession crisis.
Acts of Union 1707, two acts of Parliament, one by the Parliament of Scotland in March 1707, followed shortly thereafter by an equivalent act of the Parliament of England, followed by a treaty, which politically joined the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland into a single "political state" named Great Britain, with Queen Anne as its sovereign. The English and Scottish acts of ratification took effect on 1 May 1707, creating the new kingdom, with its parliament based in the Palace of Westminster.
French settlement onIsle Saint Jean, a strategic location where theFortress of Louisbourg is constructed, the naval base for the French fleet, close to the Gulf of St Lawrence and the fishing grounds of Newfoundland.
George I of Great Britain of the German state ofHanover is chosen monarch for Great Britain. Despite his being a German-speaking, fifty-year old ruler of a small Central Europe state, but is Protestant, a Lutheran, and considered a better alternative to the CatholicStuart pretender to the throne, resident in France. George I came with a living male heir, allaying fears of yet another dynastic crisis.
Lord Halifax appointed head of the BritishBoard of Trade, the only royal office dealing solely with the American colonies; attempts to end previous de facto policy ofsalutary neglect of colonial affairs, allowing much local autonomy and loose oversight of royal officials. Implementation of a new, unitary and restrictive approach to royal control largely a failure, but renewed in 1763, after theSeven Years' War, called in colonial America theFrench and Indian War[8]
Parliament passes the Currency Bill; includes a clause declaring that "any colonial legislative enactments contrary to [government] instructions null and void"; pushback from colonial agents and government reserved this for "future consideration."[9]
Halifax is founded in a deepwater Atlantic inlet at the mandate of the BritishBoard of Trade, becomes the capital ofNova Scotia fromAnnapolis Royal, soon becomes the base for the Royal Navy in North America (June 21).
French and Indian War (1754–1763), a nine-year conflict, the North American portion of theSeven Years' War, a global conflict fought between European powers, that began on the fringes of the British and French empires in North America. Colonial militias play a role; Virginia planter, Col.George Washington makes a name for himself as a military leader
Albany Congress, the first time in the 18th century that American colonial representatives meet to discuss some manner of formal union; attempts to gain Iroquois support (June 18 – July 11)
Britishexpulsion of French Catholic Acadians fromNova Scotia, a hardening of British colonial policy; thousands who had not taken the loyalty oath to the British crown after the British conquest were summarily uprooted, removing a military vulnerability for the British and making lands available for English and Scots settlers.
Mitchell Map of North America
TheMitchell Map,Map of the British and French Dominions in North America is published by cartographerJohn Mitchell, showing the western boundaries of English colonies extending beyond far past Mississippi River; political assertion by Britain of territory it disputed with France; used in the treaty negotiations ending the Revolutionary War in 1783.
New England Planters were settlers inNova Scotia, migrated at the in invitation of the governor and took over lands of the French CatholicAcadians following their forcedexpulsion; the Planters were Protestants, the first major group ofEnglish-speaking immigrants in Canada who did not come directly from Great Britain.
George III, George II's grandson, age 22, succeeds to the throne. (October 25) He is the first of the Hanoverian monarchs to be born in Britain and speak English as his native tongue. His reign began during theSeven Years' War and continued through the entirety of theAmerican War of Independence, the Napoleonic Wars, and theWar of 1812.
George III on the first day of his reign declares he wants an end to thewar, since he saw it benefitingHanover's interests in Europe, while Britain was being ruined financially by the expense of the war, vastly increasing the national debt.[10]
New map of North America drawn following the Treaty of Paris (1763)
TheTreaty of Paris (February 10) ends theSeven Years' War (1756–1763), called in North America theFrench and Indian War (1754–1763). France cedes most of its territories in North America to Great Britain, butLouisiana west of theMississippi River is ceded toSpain. France also recognized the sovereignty of Britain over the islands ofDominica,Grenada,Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, andTobago. George III is dissatisfied with the terms of the treaty, which he deems favorable to the losing powers France and Spain rather than the winner, Great Britain.
Geo. Grenville
George Grenville becomes Prime Minister (April 16) – a hardliner, who implemented policies to make the colonies contribute to paying off the massive debt from the Seven Years' War and assert Parliament's authority over the colonies.
Royal Proclamation of 1763 establishes royal control in territories newly ceded by France, land to which some English colonies claim. To prevent further violence between White settlers and Native Americans, the Proclamation sets a western boundary on the American colonies (October 7). American colonies view this as a limitation on their previous rights to continue expansion westward that encroached on Native American territory.
Sugar Act also known as theAmerican Duties Act (April 5), intended to raise revenues, and theCurrency Act (September 1), prohibiting the colonies from issuing paper money, are passed byParliament. These Acts, coming during the economic slump that followed the French and Indian War, required that colonists contribute to paying off the war debt and led to colonial protests.
Bankruptcy of Boston private banker and military contractorNathaniel Wheelwright, who fled to Guadaloupe, leaving £170,000 in unpaid debts resulting in financial disaster for Boston's economy.[11]
Col. Isaac Barré, MPAnti-Stamp Act propaganda
Col.Isaac Barré Irish MP defends American colonists in a fiery speech in Parliament during the debate on the Stamp Act.[12]
Stamp Act enacted by Parliament (March 22) to impose control and help defray the cost of keeping troops in America to control the colonists, imposing a tax on many types of printed materials used in the colonies. Seen as a violation of rights, the Act sparks violent demonstrations in several Colonies. In May, Virginia'sHouse of BurgessesPatrick Henry sponsors theVirginia Resolves claiming that, under British law, Virginians could be taxed only by an assembly to which they had elected representatives
Quartering Act (March 24), act of Parliament requiring theColonies to provide housing, food, and other provisions to British troops. The act is resisted or circumvented in most of the colonies. In 1767 and again in 1769, Parliament suspended the governor and legislature ofNew York for failure to comply
Stamp Act repealed by Parliament;Declaratory Act simultaneously issued asserting Parliament's "full power and authority to make laws and statutes ... to bind the colonies and people of America ... in all cases whatsoever"; designed to overrule actions by the legislative assemblies of each colony, which had traditionally held authority (March 18)
Liberty pole erected in New York City commons in celebration of the Stamp Act repeal (May 21). An intermittent skirmish with the British garrison over the removal of this and other poles, and their replacement by theSons of Liberty, rages until theProvince of New York is under the control of the revolutionaryNew York Provincial Congress in 1775
Townshend Acts – renewed Parliament assertion of its right to tax the American colonies after the repeal of the Stamp Act, placing duties on many items imported into America, including tea (June 29). The American colonists, who were denied any representation in Parliament, strongly condemned the Acts as an egregious abuse of power.
The Revenue Act 1767 (29 June 1767) placed taxes on glass, lead, "painters' colors" (paint), paper, and tea. It also gave the supreme court of each colony the power to issuewrits of assistance,general warrants that could be issued to customs officers and used to search private property for smuggled goods.
The Commissioners of Customs Act 1767 created a new Customs Board for the North American colonies, to be headquartered in Boston with five customs commissioners to enforce shipping regulations and increase tax revenue for the Crown. Previously, customs enforcement was handled by the Customs Board in London. Due to the distance, enforcement was poor, taxes were avoided and smuggling was rampant. (29 June 1767).
The Indemnity Act 1767 (passed on 2 July 1767).
The New York Restraining Act 1767 forbade the New York Assembly and the governor of New York from passing any new bills until they complied with theQuartering Act 1765, which required New York to provide housing, food and supplies for the British troops now stationed permanently, despite the end of the French and Indian War. The New York Assembly resisted the Quartering Act on the grounds it did not limit the number of troops to be quartered and that Parliament could not constitutionally tax the colony without its consent. (Passed 2 July 1767).
The Vice Admiralty Court Act 1768 passed on 8 March 1768.
John Dickinson
Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania byJohn Dickinson are twelve letters widely read and reprinted throughout the Thirteen Colonies, and were important in uniting the colonists against the Townshend Acts.
Boston Harbor 1768, engraving byPaul Revere showing British warships
Secretary of State for the Colonies established by the government to deal with the increasingly difficult issues ruling North America (27 February)
Massachusetts Circular Letter (February) bySamuel Adams asserts the Townshend Acts are unconstitutional. BritishSecretary of State for the Colonies orders colonial governors to stop their own assemblies from endorsing the letter; he also orders the governor of Massachusetts to dissolve the General Court if the colonial assembly does not revoke the letter. By month's end, the assemblies ofNew Hampshire,Connecticut andNew Jersey have endorsed the letter.
Liberty Riot (June 10) Mob violence in Boston attacking customs officials seizing the shipLiberty ofJohn Hancock for smuggling. British send a warship armed with 50 cannons to occupy Boston harbor to impose order.
Royal governor of Massachusetts dissolves the assembly (July) after the legislature defies his order to revoke Samuel Adams's circular letter. In August, in Boston and New York, merchants agree to boycott most British goods until the Townshend Acts are repealed. In September, at a town meeting in Boston, residents are urged to arm themselves. Later in September, more British warships sail into Boston Harbor; two regiments of British regular infantry land in Boston and set up permanent military occupation.
France sends military officerJohann de Kalb on a covert mission to assess American resistance to the British; he later becomes a general in the Continental Army, dies in combat
To the Betrayed Inhabitants of the City and Colony of New York broadside published anonymously by localSon of LibertyAlexander McDougall (December 16)
Hancock's confiscated ship was refitted in Rhode Island to serve as a Royal Navy ship, renamedHMS Liberty, and then used to patrol off Rhode Island for customs violations. On 19 July 1769, the crew of Liberty under Captain William Reid accosted Joseph Packwood, a New London captain, and seized and towed two Connecticut ships into Newport. In retribution, Packwood and a mob of Rhode Islanders confronted Reid, then boarded, scuttled, and later burned the ship on the north end of Goat Island in Newport harbor as one of the first overt American acts of defiance against the British Crown.
Boston Massacre (March 5), a small number of British soldiers, harassed by an unruly crowd of 300–400 and pelted with snowballs and oyster shells, fired upon the civilians, killing 5. The soldiers were arrested and tried. PatriotJohn Adams defended them in court.
Letters of Junius, a collection of anonymous political pieces written between 1769 and 1772, is published in London. One letter warns the king, "Remember that a throne acquired by one revolution may be lost by another."
Sheffield Declaration of individual rights passed in the town of Sheffield, Massachusetts. The first resolution reads that "Mankind in a state of nature are equal, free, and independent of each other, and have a right to the undisturbed enjoyment of their lives, their liberty and property". (Jan. 12)
James Rivington'sNew-York Gazetteer begins publication (April 22)
Tea Act passed by Parliament, requiring the colonies to buy tea solely from theEast India Company rather than a variety of sources now deemed illegal (May 10)
Association of the Sons of Liberty in New York published by localSons of Liberty (December 15)
Colonists in all major ports refuse to allow tea to be landed
Quebec Act (June 22) set the terms for the governance of territory won from France in theFrench and Indian War; continuation of French civil law and governmental, and toleration of Catholicism; the territorial boundaries extended through the Ohio Valley, which the colonies of Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut colonies claimed by their charters and expected to profit from by land sales to white settlers, ignoring the claims of Native Americans.
Edmund Burke
Anglo-Irish MPEdmund Burke delivers the speechOn American Taxation in Parliament, calling for a repeal of theTownshend acts, warning that the draconian and punitive policies against the Americans were wrong and would be counterproductive. He had the speech printed and it was widely distributed.
Joseph Galloway's Plan of Union debated September 1774, calling for the creation of a Grand Council for the American colonies, with each having representation and hold and exercise power within the British Empire; rejected by the Continental Congress.[14]
Continental Association created (October 20, effective December 1), the agreement exhibited the collective will of the colonies to act together for their common interests, initially an economic boycott against British goods. The agreement is published in a London newspaper. The British government begins to realize the extent of the colonies' collective resistance.
Petition to the King (October 26) to repeal theIntolerable Acts; addressed to George III, but since 1688 the monarch could not act independently of Parliament, which had passed the acts
Burning of thePeggy Stewart (October 19) inAnnapolis, Maryland for contravening calls to boycott British tea landings, "the Annapolis teaparty"
"A Summary View of the Rights of British America," written anonymously byThomas Jefferson, published in London, asserting that kings were servants, not proprietors of people (November)
Capture of Fort William and Mary (December 14) One of the first overt acts of armed conflict in what became the American Revolutionary War and the only battle to take place in New Hampshire.
Conciliatory Resolution (February 27) in Parliament, allowing any colony that agreed to contribute to the public defense, as well as to support civil government and the administration of justice, as approved by the Crown and the two Houses of Parliament, to be exempt from taxation. Taxes for the regulation of commerce would continue to be levied, but their net produce would be returned to the colony. The resolution arrived in the American colonies after war had broken out in Massachusetts, and was rejected by theContinental Congress.
Edmund Burke
Edmund Burke delivers a major speech to Parliament "On Conciliation with America", appealing for peace as preferable to civil war and reminding the House of Commons of America's growing population, its industry and its wealth. He warned against the notion that the Americans would back down in the face of force since most Americans were of British descent. (March 22, published in May)
Restraining Acts 1775 (March 30) designed to divide the colonies, restricted New England colonies from trading with any but Britain and Ireland; restricted New Englanders' access to fishing
Siege of Boston (19 April 1775 – 17 March 1776), American blockade of British forces in the port of Boston, garnering other colonies' support, ending with British withdrawal.
Skenesboro, New York (nowWhitehall, New York) captured by Lieutenant Samuel Herrick (May 9)
Fort Ticonderoga, NY
Fort Ticonderoga captured in upstate New York byEthan Allen,Benedict Arnold, and the Green Mountain Boys (May 10), American victory, major boost psychologically, but importantly the cannons they capture there are moved to Boston and are crucial to forcing the British to evacuate Boston and redeploy to New York City.
Independence Hall in Philadelphia, where the Second Continental Congress met
King George III issues theProclamation of Rebellion (August 23), de facto royal response to the Olive Branch Petition, dashing the hopes of loyalists and moderates; it declared anyone aiding the open rebellion to be traitors.
Dunmore's Proclamation issued by Virginia royal governorLord Dunmore, offering freedom to enslaved men held by rebel masters if they fight for the British (November 7)
HardlinerLord George Germain becomes chief architect of British policy in North America as Secretary of State for the American Department (Nov. 10). He served until 1782.
Battle of Quebec (December 31, 1775) major British victory; American Gen.Richard Montgomery killed, Gen.Benedict Arnold (then fighting for the Americans) wounded. French Canadians do not support the American invasion.
Publication ofCommon Sense byThomas Paine (January 10). It becomes a runaway bestseller, selling 500,000 copies, convincing many colonists that independence was the only course
Richard Price
Publication of English philosopherRichard Price'sObservations on the Nature of Civil Liberty, the Principles of Government, and the Justice and Policy of the War with America, justifying the American cause and refuting arguments for those policies. It goes through 13 printings after its first publication. (February)
David Mathews appointed Mayor of New York, the highest ranking civilian officer for English North America for the duration of the Revolution
Beaumarchais funnels covert aid from France to the Americans
Silas Deane sent to France by the Continental Congress as a purchasing agent for the Continental Army (March). Beginning of covert French financial aid to the Americans.
Roderigue Hortalez and Company founded in May in Paris to coordinate clandestine financial and military aid from France and Spain to the American rebels to weaken their rival, Britain.
Congress opens American ports to trade with all other nations except Britain (April 6)
Oliver Cromwell, a 20-gun corvette, launched in Connecticut (June 13). Named after the Puritan military and political leader, signatory of the death warrant of Charles I in 1649, Lord Protector of theCommonwealth of England until his death in office.
Thomas Hickey hanged for role in plot to assassinate George Washington (June 28). British Colonial LoyalistNew York Mayor David Mathews previously arrested inFlatbush, Brooklyn for his role in the plot (June 22)
Battle of Long Island, a.k.a.Battle of Brooklyn (August 27) – British victory; British occupation of New York for the duration of the war; Washington's largely intact forces escape capture, a repeated strategy in the war
Staten Island Peace Conference (September 11) unsuccessful meeting between British authorities and members of the Continental Congress (Ben Franklin, John Adams) to end armed hostilities
Battle of Trenton (December 26) Washington's surprise attack on Hessian mercenaries and victory. The crossing of the Delaware River the night before is an iconic image.
Flag Act of 1777 passed by the Continental Congress specifying the stars and stripes. (June 14)Flag Day is celebrated on the anniversary, but it is not a federal holiday.
Delegates in Vermont, which was not one of theThirteen Colonies, establish arepublic and adopt aconstitution, the first in what is now the territory of the United States to prohibitslavery (July 8)
British occupation ofPhiladelphia, the American capital (September 26)
Battle of Germantown (October 4) British victory outside of Philadelphia, but the long-term strategic consequences favored the Americans, since Gen. Howe had failed to follow up on his success and allowed Washington and his army to escape, leading to their encampment atValley Forge.
Battle of Saratoga (September 19 and October 7); surrender of the British army underGeneral Burgoyne. Major American victory, demonstrating to France that the Americans could win in battle. The French now formally allied with the Americans in 1778, after providing covert aid since 1776.
Convention of Saratoga signed Oct. 20 by Gen. Burgoyne of generalHoratio Gates setting the terms of Burgoyne's surrender, allowing for the evacuation of his whole army to Britain. George Washington opposes the terms, arguing the British would redeploy them to fight the Americans again.
Battle of Fort Mercer, New Jersey (October 22) American victory, a much-needed morale boost to the Americans, delaying British plans to consolidate gains in Philadelphia, and relieving pressure on the Continental Army, embedded north of Philadelphia.
Bicentennial Commemorative stamp
Articles of Confederation, formal legal framework for governance of the U.S. until 1787, adopted by the Second Continental Congress (November 15)
Baron von Steuben drills Continental soldiers at Valley Forge
Continental Army in third winter quarters atValley Forge (December 19, 1777 – June 19, 1778) Washington's army of 12,000 struggled to manage a disastrous supply crisis while simultaneously retraining and reorganizing their units in an effort to mount successful counterattacks against the British. During the encampment at Valley Forge, an estimated 1,700 to 2,000 soldiers died from disease, possibly exacerbated by malnutrition and cold, wet weather.
Continental Congress rejects in January implementing the Convention of Saratoga, an agreement by British generalJohn Burgoyne ans American generalHoratio Gates, which would have allowed theConvention Army that Burgoyne surrendered after losing theBattles of Saratoga to return to Britain on the promise the soldiers not return to America fight. The British and German troops remained prisoners until the 1783 end of the war.
Charles James Fox oppositionWhig MP, who dressed for Parliament in blue and buff, the colors of George Washington, introduces a bill to prohibit the government from sending more regular troops to fight in America, arguing that Britain needed the troops for its own security, since France was preparing for war. (February 2)
Coat of Arms of France
American treaties of alliance with France withTreaty of Amity and Commerce andTreaty of Alliance (February 6). The full weight of the France, Britain's longstanding rival, provides crucial support (money, army and naval forces, war materiel) to the Americans. France is the first foreign country to recognise the flag of the United States, on the ship ofJohn Paul Jones (February 14)
France declares war on Great Britain, starting theAnglo-French War (1778–1783) and formally allying with the United States (March 17) The war is transformed from an insurgency within the British Empire and one of its component parts into a global conflict between Britain and France, which seeks to undermine British dominance. Britain must rethink its war strategy since its lucrative Caribbean colonies ofJamaica andBarbados and others and India are now vulnerable to the French and Britain itself could be invaded. British decrease its army in North America, believing it can rely onLoyalists. The British over-estimate the number of Loyalists and their willingness to take up arms.
John Paul Jones, Scottish-born commander of the American shipRanger, attacksWhitehaven in England, America's first naval engagement outside North America (April 20)
TheGreat Chain across the Hudson River is completed, blocking navigation (April 30)
Battle of Ushant, first naval engagement between the British and French, inconclusively fought in the English Channel. Britain feels the threat of a French invasion following their alliance with the Americans. (July 27)
Spain declares war on Great Britain in alliance with France but not in alliance with the U.S. to recover Gibraltar and Minorca; gives material and logistical support to the American Revolution (June 21)
Battle of Grenada (July 6) (In the West Indies Between the French and the British)
Congress establishes theCourt of Appeals in Cases of Capture to provide for final adjudication of appeals from state courtprize cases involving disposition of ships and cargo allegedly seized from the British (January 15)
Massachusetts Constitution formally recognizesHarvard College as an educational institution tasked with promoting “virtue and knowledge” to sustain free government.
Battle of Cape St. Vincent Naval battle off the coast of Portugal; first major naval victory for the British over their European enemies in the war (January 16)
Treason of Gen.Benedict Arnold exposed; MajorJohn André captured and executed as spy. (September 23) Arnold becomes a British general and recruits Loyalists
Successful Massachusetts lawsuit, Brom and Bett v. Ashley, by an enslaved black woman for her freedom, arguing that the state constitution guaranteed liberty and equality; she took the nameElizabeth Freeman. In effect, the decision ended slavery in the state.
Battle of the Chesapeake, huge French naval victory over the British navy; France can now prevent the relief of Cornwallis in Yorktown and he is forced to surrender his army to the joint American-French army (September 5)
The British surrender atYorktown, effective end of the land war in North America. (Oct. 19) Joint French-American armies of Washington and Rochambeau and the French navy trap Cornwallis and force the surrender of his entire army. War continues on other fronts until the Peace Treaty of 1783.
News of Cornwallis's surrender reaches the British government (Sept 25). Leaders inform Prime Minister North of the defeat, who exclaimed: "O God! It is all over!"[17]
House of Commons votes to suspend the war in America (27 February 1782); Lord North resigns
Rockingham becomes Prime Minister, pursues peace (March 27-July 1)
Preliminary terms for peace between Britain and Americans: British recognition of U.S. independence; British pledge withdrawal of troops; U.S. ceded land in the Great Lakes and Ohio; U.S. granted fishing rights off of Newfoundland (30 November 1782)
Signing of the Treaty of Paris showing only the American representatives; the British refused to sit for paintingGeorge Washington resigns as commander-in-chief of the Continental ArmyAllegorical painting of the British Empire taking in American Loyalists, 1783
Cyrus Griffin resigns as "President of the United States in Congress Assembled" (November 2), and with the exceptions ofJohn Jay and John Knox remaining as Secretaries of Foreign Affairs and War respectively; andMichael Hillegas remaining as Treasurer, the United States of America temporarily ceases to exist.[citation needed]
The first federal elections for the House of Representatives begin
Jay Treaty, theTreaty of Amity, Commerce, and Navigation, Between His Britannic Majesty and the United States of America, between Great Britain and the U.S. averted war, resolved issues remaining since the 1783Treaty of Paris and facilitated ten years of peaceful trade between Americans and the British in the midst of theFrench Revolutionary Wars, which had begun in 1792. The treaty angered the French who had been the Americans' ally in the War of American Independence.
Whiskey Rebellion, a violent tax protest in western Pennsylvania, suppressed by the Federal government.
Jay's Treaty ratified in June toward resolving post Revolution tensions between the United States and Great Britain. First use of arbitration in modern diplomatic history forCanada–United States border disputes.
^Oxford Illustrated History of the British Monarchy, 499
^Green, Jack P., "The Origins of the New Colonial Policy, 1748–1763" inThe Blackwell Encyclopedia of the American Revolution. Cambridge: Basil Blackwell 1991, 95–106
^Greene, Jack P. "The Origins of the New Colonial Policy, 1748–1763" inThe Blackwell Encyclopedia of the American Revolution. Blackwell 1991, 99
^Oxford Illustrated History of the British Monarchy, p. 486
^Anderson, Fred.Crucible of War: The Seven Years' War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754–1766. New York: Vintage Books 2000, 668–69, 824
^Middlekauff, Robert.The Glorious Cause: the American Revolution, 1763–1789. New York: Oxford University Press 2005, 78–79
^Becker, Ann M., "Smallpox in Washington's Army: Strategic Implications of the Disease During the American Revolutionary War,"The Journal of Military History 68, no. 2 (April 2004): 381-430
^O'Shaunnesy, Andrew Jackson.The Men Who Lost America: British Leadership, the American Revolution, and the Fate of Empire. Yale University Press 2013, p. 5
Fremont-Barnes, Gregory, and Richard Alan Ryerson, eds. (2006).The Encyclopedia of the American Revolutionary War: A Political, Social, and Military History (5 vol.)
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