The Boston Massacre was the 1770 event in which British soldiers killed five colonists in Boston.
The confrontation occurred on King Street on March 5, 1770. Tensions had been rising because British troops were stationed in Boston to enforce parliamentary policies and support customs officials. A crowd confronted sentry Hugh White, and soldiers arrived to support him. Amid shouting, thrown objects, and confusion, the soldiers fired into the crowd.
Five people died: Crispus Attucks, Samuel Gray, James Caldwell, Samuel Maverick, and Patrick Carr. Six others were wounded. Patriot newspapers and political leaders used the phrase “Boston Massacre” to portray the shooting as evidence of British oppression, while British defenders described it as a dangerous riot. John Adams, who later became the second U.S. president, served as a defense lawyer for the soldiers. Six soldiers were acquitted, and two were convicted of manslaughter and punished by branding. The event preceded the Boston Tea Party by more than three years and helped deepen the political conflict that eventually led to the Revolutionary War.