Boston Massacre Research Paper

The Boston Massacre, was the first bloodshed between the British and the American colonists, which ultimately lead to war between the two. Here, I will discuss the events leading up to the Massacre, which the hostilities of the colonial people will be discussed. I believe that the British troops fired the first shot, but were ultimately lead to this point through the colonists antagonization. I have broken this paper down into two main pieces. The first will be the events that lead to the Boston Massacre happening. The second will be the accounts of Captain Preston, and the Paul Revere engraving. The political events leading up to the Boston Massacre started with unfair taxes. The first tax, in which George Greenville, the new prime
With 15,000 people in Boston along with 4,000 was a little more than a 4 to 1 ratio of Bostonians to the British troops. You simply couldn’t go a few feet without seeing a troop walking around where in town. Troubling things started to happen because of such intensity that will lead to the Boston Massacre.
The people of Boston were not very fond of Captain Preston and his British troops. “It is [a] matter of too great notoriety to need any proofs that the arrival of his Majesty 's troops in Boston was extremely obnoxious to its inhabitants.” ()
Captain Preston’s accounts state that on Monday night at 8 o’clock, two soldiers were attacked and that at about 9, his troops came to him and said the townspeople were planning an attack on his troops. The town bells were ringing, which usually signifies firing. These bells, were instead used to gather people from the countryside to the city. He then walked to his guard, and there he saw about 100 walking towards the custom house where the king’s money was stored. He was informed by a townsmen that their intention was to carry off the guard and murder him. So, in defense, he sent a non-commissioned officer and 12 soldiers to defend the king’s money. Soon, he too came to the custom house to prevent any type of aggression. A mob surrounded him, and the mob was instigating the troops to fire, swearing at them, calling them all sorts of names. As Preston got in between
They were beaten with sticks and pelted with snowballs. Colonists were provoking the soldiers into firing, and instantly, three or four troops fired at the colonists. One colonist was dead, three were hurt, and four were severely hurt. Preston again claimed he told the soldiers not to fire, but some mistakenly thought he meant to fire. After this, on the next street, 4 to 5000 people assembled ready to take the British troops lives. Captain Preston then told his troops to the main guard, where the streets were narrow and told them to expect an attack. He heard the colonists drums going, so he told his troops to drum as well. Preston and Colonel Carr agreed that the troops should return to their