90 A HISTORY OF AMERICA IN 100 MAPS
After the British victory over the French in 1763,
the colonists expected a reprieve from war and a
general expansion of liberties. Instead, the British
tightened control over the colonies and demanded
greater taxes to help pay for the late war. This led to
defiance, which was initially sporadic and centered
in Massachusetts. In 1770 a confrontation between
colonists and royal troops was quickly dubbed the
Boston Massacre. Three years later Bostonians
dumped stores of British tea into the harbor,
prompting Parliament to close the port and to crack
down on town halls and other political activity. This
only convinced more colonists that the British posed
a direct threat to their liberties.
To coordinate this growing resistance, twelve
of the thirteen colonies sent representatives to
the First Continental Congress in October 1774.
Such a meeting generated solidarity among the
colonists and helped them to see their common
plight. They agreed to reconvene the following May
if their demands were not met. In the meantime,
Committees of Safety began to organize local
governments in order to wrest political power away
from Britain and its colonial governance structure.
In March 1775 Patrick Henry cried “Give me liberty,
or give me death,” urging the colonists to move from
political mobilization to armed opposition.
Within a month these tensions exploded in
Massachusetts. The conflict began when the British
commander in the colonies, Thomas Gage, sent
forces stationed in Boston to confiscate gunpowder
and weapons stored in the nearby town of Concord.
On the night of April 18, Lieutenant Colonel Francis
Smith led his men across the Charles River through
Cambridge and Menotomy toward Lexington.
Paul Revere alerted nearby towns that the British
were advancing, which drew Minutemen toward
Lexington, at the upper edge of the map. The British
met the rebels on Lexington Common at dawn, and
killed eight Americans.
The British marched on to Concord, only to find
that the weapons had been moved and hundreds
“A plan of the Town and Harbour
of Boston ... Shewing ... the late
Engagement between the King’s
Troops & the Provincials ...,” 1775
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