In October 1775, King George declared that the colonies needed to be brought under control and forced to comply with all the regulations and pay all the taxes that had been imposed upon them. The majority of Parliament agreed with the King.
In December 1775, The Prohibitory Act was passed by Parliament. This Act cut off all British trade with the colonies and instituted a blockade around colonies. It went even further saying that the colonies would not have the King’s protection. The colonies would not learn of this new act until British ships arrived in the colonies in February 1776.
In April 1775, colonial troops had begun setting up encampments surrounding the City of Boston, the main harbor for receiving shipments of supplies for the British troops. By March 1776, General George Washington had helped turn a ragtag army into a military that was prepared to fight the British. General Willian Howe had transported 59 abandoned British cannons and mortars 300 miles from Fort Ticonderoga to Dorchester Heights, outside the city of Boston.
On March 4, 1776, General Washington ordered the siege of Boston to begin. The British were unprepared to fight the mass of artillery and fortifications that Washington had established surrounding Boston. On March 8, some prominent Bostonians sent a letter to Washington promising not to burn the town down if they were afforded safe passage to board ships and evacuate Boston. They were not attacked as they prepared to leave.
On March 17, 11,000 people boarded 120 ships. Most of the 9,900 British troops and Loyalist women and children fled to Halifax, Nova Scotia. The Patriots were able to move into the city and take ownership of all the provisions that the Brits had left behind.
On March 23, 1776, the Second Continental Congress issued a proclamation authorizing Patriots to seize British ships. Tensions were escalating. A year earlier, on March 23, 1775, Patrick Henry had given an impassioned speech to the Second Virginia Convention saying, “Give me liberty, or give me death.”
Initially, that statement did not get a lot of publicity. Yet, a year later many colonists shared his desire for liberty from England.
