250 Years Declaration of Independence: The Stamp Act of 1765
Den USA steht in diesem Jahr ein großes Jubiläum ins Haus: 250 Jahre Unabhängigkeitserklärung. Anlässlich dieses bedeutsamen Jahrestags wird es in der Read On jeden Monat einen Artikel geben, der die Geschehnisse, die zur Gründung der Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika führten, genauer beleuchtet. In der aktuellen Ausgabe der Read On geht es um den Siebenjährigen Krieg in Nordamerika und ein britisches Steuergesetz, das die Menschen in den nordamerikanischen Kolonien aufbrachte.
The Stamp Act of 1765
A tax introduced to pay for Britain’s war didn’t go down well with the people in its North American colonies.
By Franziska Lange
1 After a difficult start, British settlement in North America was successful. By 1733, there were 13 British colonies – which would later become the United States of America.
2 However, Britain wasn’t the only country with an interest in North America. France also controlled land there.
3 In the middle of the 18th century, the situation came to a head because both countries wanted the upper Ohio River Valley.
4 In late 1753, the governor of Virginia sent British soldiers, led by 21-year-old Lieutenant Colonel George Washington, to one of the forts the French had built in the region. Washington had a letter with him, telling the French to leave. But they said the land was theirs and stayed.
5 Then, in May 1754, Washington and his men attacked a French camp, killing ten soldiers. That was the start of the French and Indian War, a war fought between Britain and France from 1754 to 1763 for control over North America.
6 The first years of the war were difficult for the British, but in September 1759, they defeated the French in an important battle on the Plains of Abraham near Quebec City. By 1760, they had taken most of French land in North America.
7 The war ended when Britain and France signed the Treaty of Paris on February 10, 1763.
8 The British had won the war – and a lot of land in North America – but it had cost them. So, to help pay for it, they wanted to make people in the colonies pay a tax.
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Den vollständigen Artikel lesen Sie in der aktuellen Ausgabe der Read On.
Vocabulary
0–3 Stamp Act Stempelmarkensteuergesetz — to introduce s.th. etw. einführen — to not go down well with s.o. (fig) bei jdm. nicht gut ankommen — settlement Kolonisierung — to come to a head (fig) eskalieren
4–8 governor Gouverneur(in); Statthalter(in) — lieutenant colonel Oberstleutnant — fort Befestigungsanlage — French and Indian War Siebenjähriger Krieg in Nordamerika — Plains of Abraham Abraham-Ebene — Treaty of Paris Frieden von Paris (t. Vertrag)
Picture: Wikimedia Commons
