In what year did the Boston Massacre occur?

The Boston Massacre occurred in 1770, on the evening of March 5 in Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony.

The confrontation grew from tensions between Boston residents and British soldiers stationed in the city to enforce unpopular colonial laws. A crowd gathered near the Custom House, shouted at the soldiers, and threw snowballs, stones, and other objects. The soldiers eventually fired into the crowd, killing five colonists, including Crispus Attucks.

The event became a powerful Patriot symbol. Paul Revere’s widely circulated engraving portrayed the shooting as a deliberate attack, helping spread anti-British feeling throughout the colonies. In Britain, the incident was more neutrally called the “Incident on King Street.”

The soldiers were prosecuted, and future president John Adams defended them in court. Six were acquitted, while two were convicted of manslaughter. The Boston Massacre helped deepen the political crisis that eventually led to the American Revolution, which began five years later in 1775.