The Events Of The Boston Massacre

On May 5, 1770, a street fight between the British soldiers and the Boston colonists erupted which later became known as the Boston Massacre. The events of the Boston Massacre occured after the French and Indian war, when the British were in great debt. This caused them to pass many acts like the Sugar Act and the Stamp Act, which taxed colonists when they bought or imported certain goods. The Sugar Act set duties on sugar and molasses imported by colonists, while the Stamp Act required colonists to pay for an official stamp when buying paper items. The Quartering Act of 1768 was also later passed which forced colonists to house British soldiers in their own homes. Many were angered by all of these acts enforced by the government, because

After the Boston Massacre, it is clear that the colonists were fully responsible for what happened.

The individuals who were responsible for the events of May 5, 1770 were the Boston colonists. For instance, the colonists provoked the British soldiers by saying phrases with inappropriate language. According to ‘Captain Preston’s Deposition from March 12, 1770’ it states, “The mob still increased and were outrageous, striking their clubs one against another, and calling out, come on you rascals, you bloody backs, you lobster scoundrels, fire if you dare, G-d damn you, fire and be damned, we know you dare not, and much more such language was used.” This demonstrates how the Boston colonists were aggravating the soldiers with their bitter words. They wanted to showcase their angry emotions from the taxation without representation, and to bring attention to how it was wrong. The colonists probably thought that insulting the soldiers would make them aware of the wrongdoings of the British government, but it just made the situation more heated. In addition, the colonists continually threw snowballs at the soldiers. Charles Hobby’s deposition states, “ I heard some of the inhabitants cry out, “heave no snow

One example of this is in Paul Revere’s engraving. Revere made the soldiers stand in formation on the right side of the engraving with guns in their hands, while there is a sign above them that says “Butchers Hall”. This is indicating that the British soldiers slaughtered the colonists, since the job of a butcher is to slaughter (kill) animals. Although this made the soldiers guilty, Paul Revere purposely made the engraving this way as a type of propaganda. He was biased towards the colonists which was why he made the British soldiers look like they caused the Boston Massacre. Revere showed the soldiers firing with weapons while the colonists were unarmed. He didn’t feature all of the chaos and violence that came from both sides. To add on, the British soldiers apparently misheard their given orders and shot the colonists. Captain Preston’s deposition states the following, “ Instantly three or four of the soldiers fired.... On my asking the soldiers why they fired without orders, they said they heard the word fire and supposed it came from me. This might be the case as many of the mob called out fire, fire, but I assured the men that I gave no such order; that my words were, don't fire, stop your firing. . . .”. This proves how the British soldiers shot at the colonists as a misconception of their captain’s words. Captain Preston