On This Day – Historical Events

On the 22^nd of March 1765, Britain began the ‘Stamp Tax’ in America, which taxes any official document, Newspapers and playing cards. The controversial tax was introduced to raise the money towards the 10,000 troops placed on the American frontier to defend and protect the colonies. The Seven Years' War (1756-1763) and ‘The French and Indian War (1754-1763) had only ended and Tensions still ran high between the United Kingdom and France. Other taxes in Britain’s colonies had been introduced by their elected representatives, but this tax had been introduced directly from Britain and not approved by an American legislator. This was seen as an insult to the Americans and many of Britain’s and implied that Americans were subjects with fewer rights than Britain’s at home.

Former Prime Minister William Pitt the Elder gave a speech in Parliament in defence of America and their rights as equal citizens “This Kingdom has no right to lay a tax upon the colonies. They are the subjects of the kingdom equally entitled with yourselves to all the natural rights of mankind and the peculiar privileges of Englishmen. The Americans are the sons not the bastards of England.”

The King also made his opposition to the tax known and it was repealed within a year on the 18th of March 1776. The introduction of the stamp tax is considered to be the start of the political arm of the American Revolution. Although the tax was repealed the damage had been done and the colonists began many more acts of political defiance to resist all taxation they deemed illegal. This included the Tea Act of 1773 which reduced the price of tax added to tea produced by the British East India Company giving them the monopoly over the American Tea trade. The colonists threw the tea into the Boston port, an act of defiance that would become known as the “Boston Tea Party”.

On the 19^th of April 1775, the military arm of the American Revolution began known as the ‘American Revolutionary War’ or the ‘American War of Independence’. The first incident that initiated the war took place on in Lexington when British troops were ordered to travel to Concord and take the Patriots' military stores there. While the British troops headed out on their mission, a Patriot line of communication, made from men on horseback, sent word to Patriot forces of the impending raid. As 700 British troops, under the command of Major Pitcairn, moved through the town green in Lexington, they were met with 77 minutemen (elite mobile infantry of the American militia) under the command of Captain John Parker. Pitcairn ordered the American force to disperse and initially, they obeyed. But just as the confrontation seemed over a single shot was fired which would start the American War of Independence and bring four nations into conflict with Britain. That single shot has been referred to as ‘the shot that was heard across the world’ and as soon as it was fired (both sides blamed the other), the British and American forces opened fire on one another. With the small rebellion subdued the British troops continued to concord to complete their mission. But patriot forces in Concord were even greater and well prepared. They had already removed the stash of military hardware and up to 400 patriot troops met with the British and forced them to retreat back to Boston. The British lost 273 men compared to the patriot’s 95 men killed and this victory to the patriots spurred on many more to join and fight the British.

A Continental Congress was formed and chose a committee to create a Declaration of Independence and on the 4^th of July 1774 the declaration was adopted by 12 colonies of the 13 original colonies of the United States of America. New York, the 13^th colony, would adopt the declaration on the 19^th of July.

The colonists had many victories in decisive battles during the war and with help from their allies they would gain their Independence.

In 1778 France signed a treaty with America and went to war with Britain. They convinced Spain to also go to war and on the 21^st of June 1779 Spain declared war on Britain. Like France, Spain also had a grudge to bear against the United Kingdom both having lost much territory in the Seven Years War.

Spain sent a lot of gold and silver to America, helping finance the colonists and their French Allies, particularly the final campaign (the Yorktown Campaign).

The French Naval and land troops greatly aided the American Victory, particularly in the Yorktown Campaign, where French soldiers outnumbered the American soldiers.

The American War of Independence would continue until 1783 when the 13 original states gained their freedom from Great Britain and would grow to become the most powerful nation in the world, the United States of America.