250 Years Declaration of Independence: The Boston Massacre

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. Die aktuelle Ausgabe der Read On widmet sich dem Quartering Act, wonach die Kolonien britische Soldaten beherbergen mussten, was zu Spannungen führte, die sich schließlich im Massaker von Boston entluden.

The Boston Massacre

Tensions between Britain and its American colonies led to the deaths of five people in what became known as the Boston Massacre.

By Franziska Lange

1                 On the same day it took back the unpopular Stamp Act – March 18, 1766 – the British Parliament passed the Declaratory Act.

2                 That law gave Britain the right to make people in the American colonies pay taxes. And it didn’t take long before Britain used that right.

3                 In 1767, the British Parliament passed the Townshend Acts, four laws with the goal of raising money and showing that Britain had control over the colonies.

4                 One of those laws put taxes on imported goods, such as glass, paper, paint, and tea. The taxes had to be paid at ports in the colonies.

5                 It was the second time Britain put taxes on goods to get money from the colonies, and it made the colonists angry.

6                 Their slogan was: No taxation without representation! They said Britain didn’t have the right to make the colonies pay taxes because they had no representatives in the British Parliament.

7                 The Suspending Act, another of the Townshend Acts, blocked the New York General Assembly from passing laws until it followed the Quartering Act.

8                 The Quartering Act had been passed in 1765. It said that the colonies had to house British soldiers and give them food and drink, even though soldiers could stay in barracks and public buildings like ale houses and inns, not in private homes.

9                 The New York General Assembly refused to follow the Quartering Act. It said it should have the right to agree with the act before housing British soldiers and paying for them.

10               Tensions between Britain and the colonies grew, especially in Boston, Massachusetts.

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Den vollständigen Artikel lesen Sie in der aktuellen Ausgabe der Read On.

Vocabulary

0–2             tension Spannung — Stamp Act Stempelmarkensteuergesetz — to pass (an act / a law) (ein Gesetz) verabschieden — Declaratory Act Gesetz über die Gesetzge­bungs- und Steuerhoheit der brit. Krone in den amerikanischen Kolonien — right Recht

3–6             to raise money Geld einnehmen — goods Güter, Waren — taxation Besteuerung — representation polit. Vertretung — representative Vertreter(in)

7                 Suspending Act Suspendierungsgesetz (to suspend Parliament das P. aussetzen) — general assembly h.: Parlament einer Kolonie — to follow s.th. etw. befolgen — Quartering Act Einquartierungsgesetz

8–10          to house s.o. jdn. beherbergen — even though obwohl — barrack Kaserne — ale house Wirtshaus — inn Gasthof

Picture: Wikimedia Commons