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A sugar plantation in one of the British Caribbean colonies. 

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This act placed a high tariff on molasses being imported by colonists from the French West Indies; it was passed in response to complaints by British West Indian planters that they were losing money.

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(1733) Smuggling of Goods by Colonists Begins

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(1733) Smuggling of Goods by Colonists Begins

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The colonists, who relied on sugar, needed to find ways to advert this heavy restriction on their livelihood. The consequences of their smuggling will later reveal itself in the passing of the Sugar Act.

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British soldiers engaging the French army at the Battle of Minden. 

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Both the French and British occupied the American lands at the time, the French being located in the Ohio River Valley/Canada, while the English laid claim to the 13 colonies. As colonists began to push west and expand, they began to encroach on the lands of the French which sparked outrage. In accordance with the climate of the world at the time, England declared war on France, and fighting ensued. Britain aided the colonies in fighting the French and Indians in North America. This would later set the stage for the Revolutionary War.

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The signing of the Treaty of Paris in Paris, France. 

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France lost all claims to Canada, and virtually all their other lands in America, as well as the Spanish. This treaty essentially sealed the supremacy of the British as the main operator of the American theatre, however, it should be noted that the First Continental Congress, a legislature made up of purely colonial representatives, helped set the conditions of the treaty.

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A map of the British colonies at the time. 

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Following the expensive French-Indian War despite their victory, the British were under a lot of debt. The Whig Party of Parliament opted to make the colonists pay for a war that was fought to protect them. Here is where tension began.

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Chief Pontiac, a native chief, was angered at the fact that settlers were constantly moving west, especially now that they gained control of the land. His tribe began to destroy forts and infrastructure within the 13 colonies, so the British government sent troops to put him down.

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A picture of an official document at the time. 

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Because of Pontiac's Rebellion, the British didn't want the colonists moving west out of fear that more Indian attacks would ensue. However, colonists saw this more as a restriction of the freedom they gained from the French-Indian War.

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The phrase "No taxes without representation" was born from the Sugar Act being imposed during 1764. This act essentially added tax to a commodity that was very much valued by colonists, and made it harder for West Indie can farmers to sell their own sugar. The American reaction to the Sugar Act worried the British a little, so they lowered the amount, eventually scrapping the idea altogether.

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Because the currency the colonists used differed from the British sterling, it caused a lot of confusion among British merchants, which essentially lost them money. To address this, the British enforced the sterling on all of the colonies.

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A picture capturing the tension of the Quartering Act. 

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The increasing cries of "no taxes without representation" and the repealing of the Sugar Act forced Parliament to think of ways to balance this out. Rather than taxing colonists, Parliament forced them to house British soldiers, which included feeding them. This could be done without consent.

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A picture of the stamp required on all paper goods. 

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The Parliament, deciding they needed more taxes despite pleas against them, enforced the Stamp Act, which required all paper documents to be taxed and stamped with a symbol. In response, colonists began to form assemblies and legislatures to oppose both this and the Quartering Act.

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The British eventually repealed the Stamp Act, citing the dissent of the colonists. However, they wrote the Declaratory Act, which was basically a written statement that asserted they had every right to tax the colonists when they needed to.

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With the exchange of power, came a ruler who wanted to put the British fist down heavily on the colonies, Charles Townshend. Taxes on more commonly used goods, like glass, white paper, lead, and tea, increased smuggling and added to the boiling rage that already existed.

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When the British caught wind of the smuggling that existed within the Massachusetts colony, they began to enforce the law tightly. However, in one instance, a misunderstanding prompted British soldiers to fire at the colonists.

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The Tea Acts were put into place to help a struggling East India Company get out of financial ruin. It let them sell their tea directly in the colonies, and at a tax too. The colonists, angered, initiated the Boston Tea Party, in which they threw tea into the Boston Harbor.

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The Intolerable Acts were put into place to stop the rebellion following the Tea Party. This included heavier taxes, more military, and the taking away of the charter to most of the colonies. The British were now in control, not the colonies.

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(1775) First Shots at Lexington and Concord

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(1775) First Shots at Lexington and Concord

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The "shot heard around the world," or the first shot of that started the Revolution, was in Concord, in a confrontation between British and American soldiers. This was a call to action for many colonial men.

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Following victories at battles like Bunker's Hill, the Second Continental Congress came together to officially declare their independence from Britain following a lot of debate. This sparks the fury of King George, as well as pride for the new nation.

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Following a few hard defeats on the American side, the French, wanting to see their British enemies suffer, assist the colonists through artillery, power, etc. It can be argued that without them, no independence would have been possible.

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After an embarrassing defeat at Yorktown, General Cornwallis of the British army surrenders to the American army, which set the stage for the Americans to win the war.

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Signed in Paris, this treaty officially saw the British out of the American colonies, leaving them by themselves to govern.