The Boston Massacre: How five deaths in 1770 sparked the American Revolution

This year, the United States celebrates 250^th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The American Revolutionary War had begun the previous spring with “the shot heard ‘round the world” when British troops marched on Concord, Massachusetts to seize weapons from Patriot militiamen.

However, the first deaths of the conflict between the thirteen colonies and the United Kingdom are considered to have been five years before. The events of the Boston Massacre on March 5, 1770 resulted in the deaths of five American colonists.

Snowballs and bullets: the Boston Massacre

In order to understand why the Boston Massacre took place we need to go back to 1763 and the end of the Seven Years War, perhaps the first true world war. That conflict had put a serious burden on England’s treasury, doubling the national debt.

In order to bring in more income the English Parliament began to impose a series of new taxes across the Empire. The justification behind the direct taxes on American colonists was to pay for troops defending the colonies.

However, the colonists strongly disliked them and it sparked protests with the motto “no taxation without representation” across the colonies. In Boston there were outbreaks of violence which prompted the occupation of the city by British soldiers in 1768. To say the least, it wasn’t very effective and tensions continued to flare.

The evening of March 5, 1770 began calm and quiet. Most people had bunkered down in their homes and soldiers in their barracks due to the frigid temperatures outside.

However, that suddenly changed when colonists began pouring out onto the snowy streets throughout Boston and started harrying British soldiers with insults and snowballs. The biggest of these events took place on King Street in front of the Customs House.

Private Hugh White, who was standing guard by himself, called for reinforcements. The commanding officer at the building, Captain Thomas Preston, brought out a detachment of men but they were soon surrounded and being pelted with snowballs and other objects by the angry mob.

Private Hugh Montgomery, fired his gun and soon the rest of the soldiers let loose a volley of bullets on the crowd. Eleven people were wounded, five of them fatally. The names of the colonists killed were Crispus Attucks, Patrick Carr, Samuel Gray, Samuel Maverick and James Caldwell.

Patriots defend British soldiers in court

Governor Thomas Hutchinson agreed to colonists’ demands to arrest the Preston and the eight soldiers – Hugh Montgomery, James Hartigan, William McCauley, Hugh White, William Wemms, Jon Carroll, Matthew Kilroy, William Warren – involved in the Boston Massacre. They were put on trial with Patriots John Adams and Josiah Quincy defending them in court who argued that they acted in self-defense.

Only Hugh Montgomery and Matthew Kilroy were found guilty and convicted of the lesser charge of manslaughter instead of murder. They pleaded “benefit of clergy” and were saved from receiving capital punishment, but their thumbs were branded with the letter ‘M’.

Get closer to the game! Whether you like your soccer of the European variety or that on this side of the pond, our AS USA app has it all. Dive into live coverage, expert insights, breaking news, exclusive videos, and more. Plus, stay updated on NFL, NBA and all other big sports stories as well as the latest in current affairs and entertainment. Download now for all-access coverage, right at your fingertips – anytime, anywhere.

And there’s more: check out our TikTok and Instagram reels for bite-sized visual takes on all the biggest soccer news and insights.