What Does History Say?
Today, a circle of cobblestone marks the location of the Boston Massacre.
In 1763, Britain won the Seven Year's War against French. Fighting this war cost the British a lot of money. To make this money back, the British government made taxes for the colonists. One of these taxes was the Townshend Acts of 1767, which taxed goods imported into the colonies, such as glass, lead, paper and tea. The colonists were very angry that these taxes raised the prices of goods they needed. They argued that “No taxation without representation” in Parliament was unfair. As a result, the colonists began secretly bringing goods into the colonies. Angered by this illegal smuggling, Britain sent 2,000 more soldiers in October and November 1768 to make sure the colonists paid the taxes.
On March 5, 1770, a group of colonists gathered outside the Customs House, guarded by a soldier, to show their dislike of the taxes. The colonists yelled at the guard. The colonists rang the church bells to alert friends to join the crowd, which grew to 400 people. They continued to insult the soldier. The soldier called for support and Captain Thomas Preston lead a squad of thirteen soldiers to help him. The colonists threw snowballs stuffed with clamshells at the soldiers and dared the armed soldiers to fire their muskets.
Suddenly, one of the soldiers
fired into the crowd, and the others followed. Chaos broke out. After twenty minutes, the craziness stopped. Three colonists died on the scene and two more died later from injuries. Altogether, 5 colonists died.
The Boston Massacre permanently harmed relations between the colonists wanting independence and those loyal to Britain.
On March 5, 1770, a group of colonists gathered outside the Customs House, guarded by a soldier, to show their dislike of the taxes. The colonists yelled at the guard. The colonists rang the church bells to alert friends to join the crowd, which grew to 400 people. They continued to insult the soldier. The soldier called for support and Captain Thomas Preston lead a squad of thirteen soldiers to help him. The colonists threw snowballs stuffed with clamshells at the soldiers and dared the armed soldiers to fire their muskets.
Suddenly, one of the soldiers
fired into the crowd, and the others followed. Chaos broke out. After twenty minutes, the craziness stopped. Three colonists died on the scene and two more died later from injuries. Altogether, 5 colonists died.
The Boston Massacre permanently harmed relations between the colonists wanting independence and those loyal to Britain.
Let's learn more! What happened to the 12 soldiers following the Boston Massacre? Find this answer and more interesting facts about the Boston Massacre that most people do not know by Clicking Here.