 their horses. In 1765 the passage of the Stamp Act, to raise revenue for British troops in North America (fighting the French), caused widespread riots and protests in British colonies and the boycott of British luxury goods was stepped up. The British Treasury had a major deficit following the wars in North America with the Indians and the French. The Stamp Act raised revenue by requiring stamps to be fixed to items like newspapers, pamphlets, legal documents such as deeds and licences, and to other items such as playing cards. William Pitt was amongst those in Parliament opposing the Stamp Act, warning that trade with the colonies would suffer.
25/4/1764. The lawyer James Otis denounced ‘taxation without representation’ and called on the colonies to unite against Britain’s new tax measures. In August 1764 Boston merchants began to boycott luxury goods from Britain.
5/4/1764. Parliament in London passed a Sugar Act, specifically aimed at extracting revenue from the colonies. On 19/4/1764 London also passed the Currency Act, forbidding the colonies from printing paper money.
15/2/1764, The city of St Louis, Missouri, was founded as a trading post between Europeans and Indians.
20/5/1759, William Thornton, US architect who designed the Capitol at Washington, was born.
1/5/1759, Jacob Albright, US clergyman, was born near Pottstown, Pennsylvania (died 18/5/1808 in Muhlbach, Pennsylvania).
25/11/1758, The British captured Fort Duquesne (later, Pittsburgh) from the French.
16/10/1758, Birth of Noah Webster, lexicographer who produced the first American dictionary.
16/10/1756, Noah Webster, American lexicographer who wrote Webster’s Dictionary, was born in West Hartford, Connecticut.
9/7/1755, General Braddock’s troops were attacked by a joint force of French and Indians near Fort Duquesne.
8/7/1755. Britain and France broke off diplomatic relations as their dispute over North America deepened.
6/6/1755, Nathan Hale, American revolutionary who was hanged for spying on the British, was born.
11/1/1755, Alexander Hamilton, US statesman and founder of the newly independent post-Revolution Government, was born on Nevis, British West Indies.
10/7/1754, Benjamin Franklin called for a Union of the British colonies in America, so as to co-ordinate defence against the French; the so-called Albany Plan.
3/7/1754. British forces under George Washington were defeated by the French near Fort Necessity in the Ohio Valley.
19/5/1749, King George II of Britain granted the Ohio Company a charter of land on the Ohio River.
3/1/1749, Benning Wentworth issued the first of the New Hampshire Grants, leading to the founding of the State of Vermont.
19/10/1739. The War of Jenkins Ear began. In 1738 Captain Jenkins alleged that whilst in the Caribbean his ship had been boarded by the Spanish, one of whom had cut off one of his ears. In October 1739 Lord Anson was despatched with a naval squadron to wreak revenge. The real cause of the war between England and Spain was a border dispute over Florida.
1/1/1735, Paul Revere, American silversmith and patriot who was famous for his ride from Charlestown to Lexington to warn of the British advance on Concord, was born in Boston, Massachusetts.
2/11/1734, Daniel Boone, American frontiersman, was born.
9/6/1732, King George II of Britain granted a Charter for the establishment of the State of Georgia.
13/4/1732, Birth of Frederick North, Earl of Guildford, who introduced the Tea Act that led to the Boston Tea Party
22/2/1732, George Washington, soldier and Federal President, was born in Wakefield, Westmoreland County, Virginia.
30/7/1729, The city of Baltimore, Maryland, USA, was founded.
27/9/1722, Birth of Samuel Adams, American revolutionary who was involved in the Boston Tea Party. He died on 2/10/1803.
8/7/1721, Elihu Yale, American philanthropist and benefactor of Yale University, named after him in New Haven, died.
30/7/1718, William Penn, English Quaker and founder of Pennsylvania State in the USA, died aged 73.
17/5/1718, The French founded New Orleans, Louisiana.
7/6/1712, Philadelphia banned the i