Introduction to Chapter 6

6

THE BRITISH EMPIRE AND THE COLONIAL CRISIS

1754–1775 [[LP Photo: P06.01 Detail of the Bloody Massacre Perpetuated in King Street, Boston, on March 5, 1770-UTAP ONLY CO/ROA_704115_06_P01.JPEG]]

> What were the most significant factors in deteriorating relations between Britain and its North American colonies? Chapter 6 explores the efforts of the British government to tax and control the colonies in the aftermath of the Seven Years’ War and traces the escalating colonial responses to these efforts, from political protest to open resistance and—ultimately—to war.

> How did the Seven Years’ War lay the groundwork for colonial crisis?

> Why did the Sugar Act and the Stamp Act draw fierce opposition from colonists?

> Why did British authorities send troops to occupy Boston in the fall of 1768?

> Why did Parliament pass the Coercive Acts in 1774?

> How did enslaved people in the colonies react to the stirrings of revolution?

> Conclusion: What changes did the American colonists want in 1775?

image
Detail of Edenton Tea Ladies.
Library of Congress, 3g04617.