| |
Date |
Event(s) |
| 1 | 1718 | - 3 Jan 1718: New Orleans founded,The French founded the city of New Orleans, which became a key port on the Mississippi River.
|
| 2 | 1733 | - 12 Feb 1733: Georgia founded,James Oglethorpe founded the colony of Georgia, the last of the original 13 colonies, as a haven for debtors.
|
| 3 | 1735 | - 19 Mar 1735: Zenger Trial,John Peter Zenger was acquitted of seditious libel, a landmark case that established a precedent for freedom of the press in America.
|
| 4 | 1739 | - 1 Jan 1739: Stono Rebellion,A slave rebellion in South Carolina resulted in the deaths of over 20 whites and 44 slaves, leading to stricter slave codes.
|
| 5 | 1740 | - 1 Jan 1740: Great Awakening begins,A series of religious revivals began to sweep through the American colonies, led by figures like Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield.
|
| 6 | 1752 | - 15 Jun 1752: Franklin's kite experiment,Benjamin Franklin conducted his famous kite experiment, proving that lightning is a form of electricity.
|
| 7 | 1754 | - 28 May 1754: French and Indian War begins,A conflict between Great Britain and France for control of North America began, with Native American tribes allied with both sides.
|
| 8 | 1759 | - 14 Sep 1759: Battle of Quebec,British forces under General James Wolfe defeated the French, leading to the capture of Quebec and a turning point in the French and Indian War.
|
| 9 | 1763 | - 10 Feb 1763: Treaty of Paris ends war,The Treaty of Paris was signed, ending the French and Indian War and ceding French territory in North America to Great Britain.
- 7 Oct 1763: Proclamation of 1763,King George III issued a proclamation forbidding American colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains.
|
| 10 | 1764 | - 5 Apr 1764: Sugar Act passed,The British Parliament passed the Sugar Act to raise revenue from the colonies, which angered colonists and led to protests.
|
| 11 | 1765 | - 22 Mar 1765: Stamp Act passed,The British Parliament passed the Stamp Act, requiring a tax on all legal documents, newspapers, and other printed materials.
- 24 Mar 1765: Quartering Act,The British Parliament passed the Quartering Act, requiring American colonists to provide housing and food for British soldiers.
- 7 Oct 1765: Stamp Act Congress meets,Delegates from nine colonies met in New York to protest the Stamp Act, issuing a Declaration of Rights and Grievances.
|
| 12 | 1766 | - 18 Mar 1766: Declaratory Act passed,The British Parliament repealed the Stamp Act but passed the Declaratory Act, asserting its right to legislate for the colonies "in all cases whatsoever."
|
| 13 | 1767 | - 29 Jun 1767: Townshend Acts passed,Parliament passed new laws taxing imports of glass, lead, paper, paint, and tea into the colonies.
|
| 14 | 1770 | - 5 Mar 1770: Boston Massacre,British soldiers fired into a crowd of colonists in Boston, killing five people and further inflaming tensions.
|
| 15 | 1773 | - 10 May 1773: Tea Act passed,The British Parliament passed the Tea Act, which gave the British East India Company a monopoly on tea sales in the colonies.
- 16 Dec 1773: Boston Tea Party,Colonists in Boston, disguised as Native Americans, dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor in protest of the Tea Act.
|
| 16 | 1774 | - 31 Mar 1774: Coercive Acts (Intolerable Acts),In response to the Boston Tea Party, Parliament passed a series of punitive laws, including the Boston Port Act and the Quartering Act.
- 5 Sep 1774: First Continental Congress,Delegates from 12 of the 13 colonies met in Philadelphia to coordinate a response to the Coercive Acts.
|