Causes of the Boston Massacre
What were the causes, both colonial and British, of the Boston Massacre?
A. Plan of investigation
This investigation assesses the causes of the Boston Massacre in 1770, and which of the said causes had the biggest impact on the occurrence of the Massacre. To understand the causes of this Massacre, research had to be done to investigate how the presence of British soldiers, the Sugar, Stamp, Quartering, and Townshed Acts, the acts of the colonists, and the lack of representation of the colonists lead to the Boston Massacre. The main method for gathering information was from either book or Internet sources. The most used of these sources were the book The Boston Massacre by Robert J. Allison[1], and the book The Boston Massacre by Hiller B. Zobel.[2] Both of these sources will be evaluated in section C.
B. Summary of Evidence
The factors attributing to the Boston Massacre were preformed by both sides; those sides being Great Britain and the colonists. Great Britain allowed no representation of the colonists in their parliament. This meant that the colonist had no say on what kind of taxes there were, or how much they were taxed. The phrase “No taxation without representation”[3] was coined, and used during the 1760s to tell Great Britain that they wanted representatives in their parliament. These request, however, were denied by their parliament. There were a few different acts and laws placed on the colonists by Great Britain. One of these acts was called the Sugar act. This was a revenue-making act, passed by the parliament of Great Britain in 1764. This act raised tax on imported molasses and sugar, and also raised security, making smuggled molasses more difficult to buy and smuggling the molasses into the country more difficult to do.[4] Another act imposed on the colonists was the Stamp act, passed
A. Plan of investigation
This investigation assesses the causes of the Boston Massacre in 1770, and which of the said causes had the biggest impact on the occurrence of the Massacre. To understand the causes of this Massacre, research had to be done to investigate how the presence of British soldiers, the Sugar, Stamp, Quartering, and Townshed Acts, the acts of the colonists, and the lack of representation of the colonists lead to the Boston Massacre. The main method for gathering information was from either book or Internet sources. The most used of these sources were the book The Boston Massacre by Robert J. Allison[1], and the book The Boston Massacre by Hiller B. Zobel.[2] Both of these sources will be evaluated in section C.
B. Summary of Evidence
The factors attributing to the Boston Massacre were preformed by both sides; those sides being Great Britain and the colonists. Great Britain allowed no representation of the colonists in their parliament. This meant that the colonist had no say on what kind of taxes there were, or how much they were taxed. The phrase “No taxation without representation”[3] was coined, and used during the 1760s to tell Great Britain that they wanted representatives in their parliament. These request, however, were denied by their parliament. There were a few different acts and laws placed on the colonists by Great Britain. One of these acts was called the Sugar act. This was a revenue-making act, passed by the parliament of Great Britain in 1764. This act raised tax on imported molasses and sugar, and also raised security, making smuggled molasses more difficult to buy and smuggling the molasses into the country more difficult to do.[4] Another act imposed on the colonists was the Stamp act, passed