Stirrings of the Revolutionary War in America

Boston Tea Party

Most of the Townshend Acts were repealed in the face of overwhelming colonial criticism but the duty on tea was maintained. Colonists responded by happily consuming smuggled tea. The low colonial demand for legitimate British tea threatened the East India Company with bankruptcy. Instead of losing a significant tax resource, Britain decided to allow the East India Company a monopoly on tea importation into the colonies. By selling tea at prices even lower than the smuggled product, it was thought that colonists would easily accept the tax imposed on its sale. However, the colonists perceived the monopoly granted to the East India Company as another attempt to squash American freedoms and a tense standoff ensued in Boston Harbor that culminated in the destruction of a large quantity of British tea by a band of colonists led by Samuel Adams and badly disguised as Indians. Similar acts were carried out in many of the other colonies. This blatant sabotage infuriated British authorities who then passed a series of laws punishing Massachusetts that would become known as the Intolerable Acts.

Lexington and Concord

The battle was touched off when about 700 British regulars moved to destroy rebel munitions hidden in Concord. Word got back to the Lexington militia and they came out onto the green. Accounts are extremely conflicting, but shots were fired and a number of militiamen were killed. More militia soon arrived and eventually forced the British back towards Boston. Still more militia fired on the retreating troops, inflicting heavy losses. Most of the British did regain the safety of Boston and the militia began what is known as the siege of Boston. More importantly, this incident marked the true start of the Revolutionary War: the shot heard round the world.