William Pitt was George III’s minister during the French and Indian War. He crafted the strategy that insured Britain’s victory over France. Later, as a member of Parliament, he opposed...
This print depicts the royal regalia, or the ceremonial ornaments worn by English kings and queens. St. Edward’s crown with its ancient jewels, shown here at top left, is the...
The Stamp Act required colonists to buy stamps from royal officials and affix them to a variety of documents, including newspapers, playing cards, legal documents, and other paper goods. Parliament...
The Sugar Act of 1764 was a revision of the Molasses Act of 1733. The law lowered the duty on foreign molasses imported into the colonies but also tightened enforcement...
The Tea Act was an effort to rescue the East India Company from bankruptcy. The law lowered the tax on East India tea and gave the Company a monopoly on...
In this document, John Parker, Captain of the Lexington militia, recounts what happened on the morning of April 19, 1775. Parker claims that he had instructed his men not to...
This image depicts the events in Boston of March 5, 1770 when British soldiers fired into an unruly mob that had gathered in protest around the King’s Customs House. Wishing...
This image, printed in London, is an artist’s imaginative interpretation of the situation in Boston after Parliament’s passage of the Coercive Acts. Bostonians are held in a cage hanging from...
This document is a record of Benjamin Franklin’s testimony before Parliament in 1766. After colonists began to protest against the Stamp Act, political leaders in London asked Franklin to explain...