H105, American History I (Prof. Konstantin Dierks)
Week 6 timelines

glory of British empire:

Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748)

Handel, "Music for the Royal Fireworks" (1749)

demographic and economic growth in the colonies, 1720-1770:

white population in colonies:

1720           397,000
1770        1,688,000 (+325%)

value of colonial exports to England:

1720           468,000
1770        1,016,000 (+117%)

value of colonial imports from England:

1720           320,000
1770        1,926,000 (+502%)

English colonial administration, 1720-1763:

1720-1748    neglect of colonies

1748-1761    reform of colonial administration by Lord Halifax and Board of Trade

1754-1763    war between England and France, in North America; contest for Native American allegiances

1763             Treaty of Paris (absorb Florida and Canada)
                     Royal Proclamation (stay east of Appalachians)

1759-1761    Cherokee uprising in SC and GA

1763-1764    Pontiac’s uprising in PA and VA

English "liberty" -- perfect balanced government:

monarchy (Crown/King)

aristocracy (House of Lords)

democracy (House of Commons)

political destabilization in England, 1760-1770:

1720-1760    3 prime ministers in 40 years

1760             King George III (age 22)

1760-1770    7 prime ministers in 10 years

economic crisis in England, 1763:

national debt:                                  137,000,000 pounds

annual budget:                                    8,000,000 pounds

annual interest payment on debt:         5,000,000 pounds

annual cost of army (10,000 soldiers stationed in colonies):
                                                            400,000 pounds

innovations in imperial policy, 1764-1775:

1764   Sugar Act – began to tighten customs enforcement

1765   Stamp Act – began to impose new taxes (one new tax)

1766    Stamp Act repealed

1767    Townsend Act (many new taxes)

1770    Townsend Act repealed

1773    Tea Act

1774    Boston Act (closed port of Boston)

new political organizations in the colonies, 1765-1776:

1765    Stamp Act Congress (9 colonies sent delegates)

1765    Sons of Liberty (urban activists)

1767-8    John Dickinson, Letters from an American Farmer

1773    committees of correspondence (intercolonial cooperation, whenever colonial assemblies were not in session)

1774    provincial congresses (replaced colonial assemblies shut down by royal governors)

1774    Continental Congress (September 1774) (replaced Parliament)

1774    Continental Association (October 1774) – local committees to monitor economic boycott in every community

1775    Continental Army (replaced imperial army and colonial militias)

1776    Thomas Paine, Common Sense

outbreak of war:

March 1770     "Boston Massacre"

April 1775        Battle of Lexington and Concord

June 1775         Battle of Bunker Hill

July 1775          Continental Congress petition claimed American defense against English aggression, and pleaded for reconciliation

August 1775     King declared colonies in rebellion

July 1776         Continental Congress declared independence