Page 132 - JM Book 9/2020

members met the next day in a Williamsburg tavern and agreed to boycott British goods, luxury items and slaves.
1770
March 5
British Action: The Boston Massacre occurred when British regulars fired on a group of Boston demonstrators – three citizens were killed instantly, two died later and six were wounded. They were protesting British military presence in the city and enforcement of the Townshend Acts. Captain Thomas Preston and eight of his men were charged with murder.
April 12
British Action: Parliament repealed the Townshend Acts. All taxes were eliminated on imported goods into the colonies, except for tea. Parliament also voted not to renew the Quartering Act.
October 30
American Action: Captain Thomas Preston, who was arrested for murder after the Boston Massacre, was acquitted during his one-week trial. John Adams served as his defense attorney.
December 5
American Action: Six of the eight British soldiers charged with murder after the Boston Massacre were acquitted. Two were found guilty of manslaughter. They were branded and released. John Adams was the defense attorney for the soldiers.
1773
May 10
British Action: Parliament passed the Tea Act that expanded the British East India Company’s monopoly on the tea trade to all British colonies, allowing the company to sell tea at reduced prices. The act did not increase the tax on tea in the colonies. Parliament hoped the availability of cheaper tea would stop the American protest against the tea tax and stop the smuggling of tea into the colonies.
December 16
American Action: An estimated 8,000 Bostonians gathered to hear Sam Adams tell them that Massachusetts Royal Governor Hutchinson had refused their request to send three shiploads of tea back to England. Instead, the governor had insisted that the tea would be brought ashore and taxed in compliance with the Tea Act. That night, the Boston Tea Party took place. Colonial activists disguised as Mohawk Indians, boarded the ships and dumped all 342 containers of tea into the harbor.
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