Revolutionary Timeline |
Revolutionary Timeline - the Road to revolution |
| 1540's | Mercantilism | England adopts the policy of Mercantilism. The mercantile system, was based on the benefits of profitable trading in which the flow of raw materials from the colonies profited England who turned them into finished goods |
| 1640's | Triangular Trade | The Triangular Trade routes become established. | |
| 1640's | The Plantations | The Slave Plantations were established during this period |
| 1651 | The Navigation Acts | 1651,1660 & 1663 Navigation Acts were designed to regulate colonial trade |
| 1661 | Tariff of 1661 | The Tariff of 1661 imposed a series of duties on the importation of goods to Britain |
| 1663 | Navigation Act of 1663 (the Staple Act)
| The Navigation Act of 1663, also called the Staple Act |
| 1673 | The Navigation Act of 1673 (Plantation Duty Act) | Plantations trade exclusively with England and to redirect revenue to England | |
| 1675 | Lords of Trade | The Lords of Trade were appointed in England to enforce the new mercantile system and maximize potential profits for England | |
| 1675 | Bacon's Rebellion | Nathaniel Bacon rebelled against a corrupt Governor, low prices for tobacco and high taxes that were believed to be unjust | |
| 1677 | Culpeper’s Rebellion | Rebellion against the Colonial Government in Carolina and the Navigation Acts led by John Culpeper | |
| 1688 | Sir Edmund Andros appointed Governor in Chief of New England | King James II appoints Sir Edmund Andros who causes dissension with the colonists as he did not have to answer to any elected assembly | |
| 1688 | French and Indian Wars | 1688 - 1763 The French and Indian Wars start between France and Great Britain for lands in North America | |
| 1689 | Glorious Revolution | February 1689: The Protestant William III and Mary II officially replace the Catholic James II as monarchs of England | |
| 1689 | Bill of Rights | The English Bill of Rights enables Parliament to control laws and taxes in the Colonies in America | |
| 1689 | Leisler's Rebellion | Jacob Leisler (1640-1691) was a German immigrant who led the insurrection against local colonial officials from 1689 to 1691 in colonial New York | |
| 1696 | Salutary neglect | English policy of Salutary Neglect adopted to avoid the strict enforcement of parliamentary laws in Colonial America giving the colonies considerable freedom in economic matters. | |
| 1696 | Board of Trade | The English government established the Board of Trade to oversee colonial policies. | |
| 1699 | Wool Act | Parliament passes the Wool Act, which prohibits the export of American made cloth from its colony of origin. | |
| 1707 | United Kingdom of Great Britain is created | The Union between England and Scotland created the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain' and the term British, as opposed to English, is then used in reference to the colonists in North America. | |
| 1732 | Hat Act | Parliament passes the preventing the trade of American-made hats - for additional facts and info see the Beaver Wars | | |
| 1732 | Debt Recovery Act | The Act declared land and slaves to be the equivalent of property for the purpose of satisfying debts owed by colonists. | |
| 1733 | Navigation Act of 1733 (the Molasses Act) | Navigation Act of 1733, also known as the Molasses Act levied heavy taxes on sugar | |
| 1750 | Iron Act | The Act was designed to restrict the manufacturing activities in the colonies | |
| 1754 | Albany Congress, 1754 | June19 - July 11: Benjamin Franklin proposed a plan of union but it was rejected by both the British and Americans |
Revolutionary Timeline 1763 | |
| 1763 | French and Indian War (Seven years War) ends | February 10, 1763: The Peace Treaty of Paris 1783 ends the French and Indian War in North America. The British left with a massive war debt. The British look for ways of imposing new taxes in the colonies. | |
| 1763 | English Policy of Salutary Neglect ends | The British are left with a massive war debt and start to enforce the laws of the Navigations Acts and looked for ways of imposing new taxes in the colonies | |
| 1763 | Proclamation of 1763 | October 7, 1763: The introduction of a massive boundary to separate white settlements from Indian country
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Revolutionary Timeline 1764 | |
| 1764 | Sugar Act | April 5: Law setting a tax on sugar and molasses imported into the colonies impacting the manufacture of rum in New England. | |
| 1764 | Boston Boycotts | August 1764, Merchants, and the women of Boston, begin a boycott of British goods especially clothing such as satins, lace and ruffles | |
| 1764 | Currency Act | September 1 1764: Series of Laws that regulated paper money issued by the colonies - also refer to Colonial, Continental and Revolutionary Currency | |
Revolutionary Timeline 1765 | |
| 1765 | Stamp Act of 1765 | March 22, 1765: Taxes imposed on legal papers, newspapers and pamphlets. Vehement opposition by the Colonies resulted in the repeal of the act in 1766 - also refer to the Sugar Act and Stamp Act | |
| 1765 | Quartering Act of 1765 | March 24, 1765: The first of a series of Laws requiring the provision of housing, food and drink to British troops in the American colonies
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| 1765 | Patrick Henry | May 29: "If this be treason, make the most of it!" speech | |
| 1765 | Virginia Stamp Act Resolutions | May 30: Virginia Stamp Act Resolutions | |
| 1765 | Reaction to the Stamp Act | Summer of 1765: Violent reactions leading to the Stamp Act Riots | |
| 1765 | Stamp Act Congress | October 7-25: Declaration of the Rights and Grievances of the Colonists | |
Revolutionary Timeline 1766 | |
| 1766 | Declaratory Act | March 18: Declaratory Act passed asserting the British right to make laws binding on the colonies | |
| 1766 | Repeal of the Stamp Act | Repeal of the Stamp Act is approved by the House of Commons in February 1766 | |
| 1766 | Revenue Act | The Sugar Act was repealed and replaced with the Revenue Act of 1766, which reduced the tax on molasses imports. | |
Revolutionary Timeline 1767 | |
| 1767 | Townshend Acts | June 29: Series of Laws placing duties on items imported by the colonists including glass, lead, paints, paper and tea | |
Revolutionary Timeline 1768 | |
| 1768 | Boston Nonimportation Agreement (Boycott of British goods) | August 1: Merchants in Boston and New York boycott British goods until the Townshend Acts are repealed | |
| 1768 | English warships | October 1: English warships sail into Boston Harbor leaving two regiments of English troops to keep order | |
Revolutionary Timeline 1769 | |
| 1769 | George Washington | May: George Mason writes resolutions presented by George Washington to the Virginia House of Burgesses opposing taxation without representation | |
Revolutionary Timeline 1770 | |
| 1770 | Boston Massacre | March 5: 5 civilians killed by British soldiers | |
| 1770 | Repeal of the Townshend Acts | April: Repeal of the Townshend Acts and the Quartering Act | |
Revolutionary Timeline 1771 | |
| 1771 | Battle of Alamance | May 16, 1771: Battle of Alamance in protest against taxation and corrupt local government | |
Revolutionary Timeline 1772 | |
| 1772 | The Gaspee Affair | June 9: The HMS Gaspee runs aground and is looted by colonists | |
| 1772 | Committee of Correspondence | November 1772: Samuel Adams organized the first Committee of Correspondence at Boston, Massachusetts | |
Revolutionary Timeline 1773 | |
| 1773 | Tea Act | May 10: Law allowing the British East India Company to sell its low-cost tea directly to the colonies, undermining colonial tea merchants | |
| 1773 | The Boston Tea Party | December 16: Massachusetts patriots dressed as Mohawk Indians protested against the British Tea Act | |
Revolutionary Timeline 1774 | |
| 1774 | Intolerable Acts (Coercive Acts) | The Intolerable Acts were a reprisal to the Boston Tea party rebellion. A package of five laws aimed at restoring British authority in its colonies | |
| 1774 | Boston Port Act | March 31, 1774 - The Boston Port Act | | |
| 1774 | Massachusetts Government Act | May 20, 1774 The Massachusetts Government Act | |
| 1774 | Administration of Justice Act | May 20, 1774 The Administration of Justice Act | |
| 1774 | Quartering Act | June 2, 1774 - The Quartering Act | |
| 1774 | Quebec Act | June 22, 1774 - The Quebec Act | |
| 1774 | First Continental Congress | September 5 - October 26: First Continental Congress | |
| 1774 | Continental Association | The Continental Association was created by the Continental Congress in 1774 in response to the Coercive Acts, or 'Intolerable Acts'. The Articles of Association were were adopted on October 20, 1774. | |
Revolutionary Timeline 1775 | |
| 1775 | Patrick Henry Give me Liberty Speech | March 23, 1775 - Patrick Henry delivered his famous speech "Give me liberty or give me death!" | |
| 1775 | Paul Revere | April 18: General Gage orders British soldiers to destroy the colonists weapons depot in Concord. Paul Revere leaves Boston to warn colonists | |
| 1775 | George Washington Continental Army | June 15: George Washington appointed general and commander-in-chief of the new Continental Army | |
| 1775 | Battle of Bunker Hill | June 17: Battle of Bunker Hill | |
| 1775 | Taking Up Arms | July 6 1775: Declaration on the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms stating that Americans are "resolved to die free men rather than live as slaves." Causes of the American Revolutionary War Revolutionary Battles Facts about the Revolutionary War Revolutionary War Timeline | |
Revolutionary Timeline 1776 | |
| 1776 | Declaration of Independence | 1776 July 4. Thomas Jefferson presents the United States Declaration of Independence | |
Revolutionary War | |
| 1781 | Terms British Surrender | October 17: American victory at Yorktown terms discussed for the British surrender. | |
| 1782 | Parliament votes against war | February 27: English Parliament votes against further war in America | | |
| 1782 | Peace talks | April 12: Paris Peace talks begin | |
| 1782 | Final Battle | November 10: The final battle of the Revolutionary War | |
| 1783 | End to Hostilities | February 4: England officially declares an end to hostilities in America | |
| 1783 | Treaty of Paris (1783) | September 3: The Treaty of Paris is signed by the United States and Great Britain | |
| 1784 | American Revolutionary War ends | January 14: The Treaty of Paris is ratified by Congress and the American Revolutionary War officially ends. | |
| 1784 | Peace | The American Revolution via the Revolutionary Timeline | |
Revolutionary Timeline |
Revolutionary Timeline |