Boston Massacre Reenactment (pt 5 of 5)

March 6, 2010. Old State House. Boston, Massachusetts.

The Boston Massacre was an incident that led to the deaths of five civilians at the hands of British troops on March 5, 1770. A heavy British military presence in Boston led to a tense situation that boiled over into incitement of brawls between soldiers and civilians and eventually led to troops discharging their muskets after being attacked by a rioting crowd. Three civilians were killed at the scene of the shooting, eleven were injured, and two died after the incident.

British troops were sent to Boston in 1768 to help officials enforce the Townshend Acts, a series of laws passed by the British Parliament. The purpose of the Townshend program was to make colonial governors and judges independent of colonial control, to create a more effective means of enforcing compliance with trade regulations, and to establish the controversial precedent that Parliament had the right to tax the colonies.

Colonists objected that the Townshend Acts were a violation of the natural, charter, and constitutional rights of British subjects in the colonies. Boston was a center of the resistance.

Even though tragic, the death of the colonists actually helped to improve relations between the King and the colony. Just a month after the incident, in April 1770 the unpopular Townshend acts were lifted and everyone in Boston started breathing easier.

British View: It was unfortunate that the innocent people were killed, but those who were shot in the Boston Massacre were as much of victims of the angry crowd as they were of the accidental shooting by the solders. For the likes of Samuel Adams, the outcome could not have been more beneficial. Quickly the incident was blown out of proportion and used for propaganda. It seemed that a chance for a fair trial in Boston was impossible. Unexpectedly two talented colonial lawyers, Josiah Quincy and John Adams took it upon themselves to defend the soldiers. Justice prevailed and the jury vindicated the British regulars.

There were two separate Boston Masacre trials. The trial of Captain Preston started almost 8 month after the incident and lasted for one week, from October 24, 1770 to October 30, 1770. The second trial was for the soldiers. It started almost one month after Prestons aquital, on November 27, 1770 and ended on Dec 14, 1770. Preston and his four men were fully acquitted and the other two solders were found guilty of lesser charges and sent back to England.

Before the The Boston Massacre name became common, the incident was also called The Bloody Massacre in King Street, from the title of the famous Paul Revere engraving. In the early 1800's it was also called the State Street Massacre.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Boston
• Massacre
• Reenactment
• American
• Revolution
• Taxes

[planetrockford]

Thank you I enjoyed every moment and you have reminded me why I joined YouTube.

[coptersoisoi]

1700's version of the WWF. or to be more accurate.. perhaps Kent State.

[charlie557]

any chance do you know in any of your video. you heard anyone yell "the queens a man"