Boston Massacre

The Boston Massacre happened when five civilians (people who were not in the military) were shot and killed by 9 British soldiers on March 5, 1770. It was in Boston, Massachusetts, which was a British colony at the time. 

 Events 
The Massacre happened at night when a large mob gathered outside of the Custom House.  A British soldier named Hugh White hit a boy who had insulted White's commanding officer.  The boy ran away and came back with a large mob of angry people.  

More British soldiers came to help protect Hugh White from the people.  The mob threw snowballs with clams inside them and hit them with wooden clubs.  

As the mob got larger and larger, the scene became more and more chaotic.  Someone in the crowd yelled "fire".  In the confusion, some of the soldiers fired into the crowd. Crispus Attucks, an African-American man, was one of the first people killed.

Trial
Eight British soldiers were tried in court after the Boston Massacre. They were defended by John Adams, who was both a patriot and a lawyer. He knew that many people would be upset with him for defending the soldiers, but he believed that everybody deserved a fair trial. (Adams would later become the President of the United States). 

Because of John Adams' efforts, six of the eight soldiers were found not guilty. The other two, Hugh Montgomery and Matthew Kilroy, were convicted of manslaughter in court. As punishment, they had the palms of their hands marked with a burn.  

After the Boston Massacre
Paul Revere, a man who worked with metals in Boston, made an engraving of the British soldiers shooting into the crowd. He depicted the scene as violent. Many people saw the engraving and became angry. 

A few years later, the American Revolution started, and the colonies would become an independent country, the United States of America.

Photo gallery

References

Category:1770
Category:History of Boston
Category:Crime in the United States
Category:Manslaughter
Category:Massacres in North America
Category:1770s in Massachusetts