1. The Boston Massacre was an event when the British troops shot their guns into a mob of Bostonians resulting in the death of five people. 2. This event engulfed the colonies in anger and rage against the British. 3. War was soon on the way.

1. But first! Let’s understand what we learned in the previous lesson. 2. What was Taxation without Representation? 3. This was a term used by the colonies when they did not have a voice in how they were taxed or even treated by the British government. 4. This left many colonists feeling very bitter and upset.

1. You may be asking why the British troops shot into a mob of Bostonians? 2. Why was there a mob in the first place? 3. Who started the fight? 4. And finally, the essential question: Who is to blame for the Boston Massacre? 5. We will answer all these questions and more!

1. We learned that the Townshend Acts and Taxation without Representation were things that made the colonies very unhappy particularly in the city of Boston. 2. The custom commissioners and the arrival of the British troops made everything even worse. 3. The people of Boston would frequently protest against everything the British did. 4. At one point a mob of angry protestors formed against the British troops.

1. What started out as an insult over a personal matter between a British soldier and a citizen turned into a massive Bostonian mob formed against the British troops. 2. To make matters worse, a soldier hit a Bostonian in the face after an argument. 3. The Bostonians in the crowd taunted the British soldiers by throwing snowballs, other objects and telling the British soldiers to “FIRE!” their guns. 4. The British were ordered not to fire their weapons and they did not do so until… 5. One British soldier was knocked down by a club from the Bostonian crowd. He stood back up and fired into the crowd which eventually led to other British troops firing into the crowd.

1. The shooting left 5 Bostonians dead. 2. The British had hoped to keep this incident from getting in the news in fear of spreading but it was too late. 3. Many people painted the British out to be horrible monsters for shooting into an unarmed crowd. 4. All 13 colonies found out about the event in the newspapers and were furious. 5. The thoughts of war grew in the minds of the colonists.

1. So who started it? 2. To this day, historians debate back and forth over who started the shooting. 3. The Bostonian mob? 4. The British Soldiers? 5. What do you think?