On April 19, 1775, British and American soldiers exchanged fire in the Massachusetts towns of Lexington and Concord. At the North Bridge in Concord, the British were confronted again, this time by 300 to 400 armed colonists, and were forced to march back to Boston with the Americans firing on them all the way.

October 1768

There were two reasons why General Thomas Gage (who was the governor of Massachusetts at the time) sent British troops to Lexington and Concord in April of 1775. Gage sent troops to Concord to find and confiscate the weapons. Second, Gage felt that he would be able to capture some Patriot leaders in this way.

The actions of the colonist in response to the Townshend Act convinced the British that they needed troops in Boston to help maintain order. The British government reacted to the Americans, and specifically to the Massachusetts opposition to the Townshend act by dispatching troops to Boston.

John Adams

In early July 1775, General George Washington (1732-99) arrived in the Boston area to take command of the newly established Continental army. On March 17, the eight-year British occupation of Boston ended when British troops evacuated the town and sailed to the safety of Nova Scotia, a British colony in Canada.

Britain feared a rebellion so it sent more troops to Virginia. Colonists called the British soldiers “redcoats.” The British soldiers in Boston were polite and helpful. Colonial leaders used the Boston Massacre as propaganda to turn the colonist against the British.

Due to their long redcoats, British soldiers were nicknamed “lobsters” and “bloody backs” by the colonists.

The Boston Massacre was at least party the result of the tensions caused by the British military presence in Boston. The reinforcements were sent by the Parliament to back the Britain’s latest attempt to raise the tax burden on American colonies. The tax policy in question was called the Townshend Acts of 1767.

What was the Boston Massacre? The incident was the climax of growing unrest in Boston, fueled by colonists’ opposition to a series of acts passed by the British Parliament. As the mob insulted and threatened them, the soldiers fired their muskets, killing five colonists.

The answer lies in why Canada is not a part of the United States, lies in history — back to the Treaty of Paris signed on 3 September 1783 in Paris between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the United States of America that formally ended the American Revolution.

While the United States is much larger than its northern neighbor in terms of GDP, the average income per capita is similar in both places. While people generally pay more in taxes in the United States, Canada offers superior social benefits.

The country of Canada is located north of the US. Canada is a vast country located on the continent of North America, north of the United States. It is administratively divided into three territories made up of ten provinces.

The United States

If Britain is America’s closest ally, Canada is America’s nearest. Sharing a peaceful, open border stretching 5,525 miles (including the Canada-Alaska border), the United States and Canada are deeply integrated on matters ranging from trade and culture, to defense and intelligence.

The United Kingdom is seen as the United States’ greatest ally.