Existing comment:
The 250th anniversary
Boston Massacre
Britain was left with enormous war debts following the conclusion of the French and Indian War in 1763. Throughout the 1760s and early 1770s, Parliament passed various acts (Sugar Act, Stamp Act, Townshend Acts, and Tea Act) to raise money from the colonies to ease the debt burden. The colonists, who had enjoyed considerable self-governance up to that point, chaffed under what they saw as an assault on their civil liberties.
On the night of Monday, March 5, 1770, a local mob in Boston, marching on the Customs House, was fired upon by a detachment of British troops who were being verbally and physically abused by the Americans. The patriots, led by Samuel Adams, labeled the affray the "Boston Massacre" and hailed its five victims as martyrs for liberty. This year marks the 250th anniversary of an event that was a flashpoint leading to the coming Revolutionary War. |