The Sugar Act (or American Revenue Act) is passed by the British Parliament on April 5,1764 imposing new duties and stricter enforcement on the American colonies to pay down British debt from the Seven Years' War and boost revenue. The Act threaten the colonial trade but strengthen the "no taxation without representation" sentiment.
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What Happened in April?
Sieges, raids, and monumental deaths. Discover key historical events from April that influenced the world. Dates for earlier events may be approximate.
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The British Parliament voted on April 12, 1770, to repeal most of the three year-old Townshend Acts, which imposed taxes in the American colonies on imported goods, like paper, glass, paint, and tea. The taxes had sparked strong colonial protests, boycotts and riots, The import taxes on tea remained as a symbol of the crown power to tax; continuing to cause discontent and conflict.
English explorer Captain James Cook (then Lieutenant) anchors at Botany Bay in Australia on April 29, 1770, during his first voyage on the HMS Endeavour, marking the first recorded European landing on Australia's eastern coast.
They fished, explored, found water and botanized but they didn’t set up a land based camp and remained on board their ship. The Endeavour departed on May 6th seven days after her arrival. Cook's arrival led to his charting of the east coast and claiming it for Britain, but he found the bay unsuitable for settlement. The Endeavour departed on May 6th seven days after her arrival, moving to Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour). More
Benjamin Franklin writes on April 5, 1774, a satirical open Letter to Lord North, then Prime Minister of Great Britain. The letter was published in The Public Advertiser, a British London, newspaper, on April 15, 1774.
The letter suggested that the British “should introduce into North America a Government absolutely and entirely Military” to “quiet all the Disturbances in America, procure a decent Revenue from our Colonies, make our royal Master (at least there) a King de facto..." The letter turned out to be prophetic, just one month later North imposed martial law on Massachusetts with the passage of the Massachusetts Government Act, the second of four acts passed by Parliament known together as the Coercive Acts, or the “Intolerable Acts” as most people in Colonies refer to them. The Acts were meant to punish the colonies for their actions of defiance. More
Paul Revere and William Dawes ride, taking distinct routes, from Boston to Lexington, on the night of April 18, 1775, to warn of British troop movements. Their urgent warning was delivered to the Patriot leaders Samuel Adams and John Hancock, allowing for the mobilization of colonial Minutemen, resulting in the first armed confrontations at Lexington and Concord on April 19,1775, marking the start of the Revolutionary War.
The Battles of Lexington and Concord, often referred to as the "shot heard 'round the world," are fought on April 19, 1775, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts Bay, marking the start of the American Revolutionary War. More
The Battle of Ridgefield takes place on April 27, 1777 in Connecticut during the American Revolutionary War. Where a small American force engaging British troops.with American forces, led by Benedict Arnold and David Wooster, attempted to stop British regulars retreating after raiding Patriot supply depots in Danbury. The British won the battle and escaped to their ships but the engagement successfully harassed the retreating troops and boosted colonial morale
British-American naval officer, John Paul Jones, serving in the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War, sails to the British Isles from Brest, France on April 10, 1778, after taking command of the newly built 18-gun sloop Ranger, with the mission to raid British merchant shipping and warships in the Irish Sea.
Operating out of Brest, Jones cruised to the Irish Sea, capturing or destroying several small vessels. This cruise made Jones a household name in Britain. More
The Battle of Martinique takes place on April 17, 1780 during the American War of Independence. It was an inconclusive battle, also known as the Battle of Dominica. More
Maryland, ratifies the Articles of Confederation becoming the seventh State of the Union on April 28, 1788.
George Washington is inaugurated as the first President of the United States on April 30, 1789, on the balcony of Federal Hall in New York City. (the nation's capital at the time). Chancellor of New York Robert R. Livingston administered the oath of office to Washington.
Following the oath, Washington delivered the first presidential inaugural address in the Senate Chamber which waws witnessed by a large crowd; setting the precedent for future U.S. presidential inaugurations.For his second term, Washington had a much simpler inauguration March 4, 1793. More
The US Congress Coinage Act of 1792 was passed on April 2, 1792, establishing a national mint located in Philadelphia. Congress chose decimal coinage in parts of 100, and set the name of the Coinage as the U.S. dollar to the already familiar and widely used Spanish silver dollar and its fractional parts (half, quarter, eighth, sixteenth).
This resulted in coins of the following metals and denominations: Copper: half cent and cent. Silver: half dime, dime, quarter, half dollar, and dollar. Gold: quarter eagle ($2.50), half eagle ($5), and eagle ($10). The Flowing Hair dollar, designed by Robert Scot, was initially produced in 1794, and again in 1795. In October 1795 the design was replaced by the Draped Bust dollar. More
George Washington issued the first presidential veto in U.S. history on April 5, 1792, The Veto was for the 1792 Congressional Act for apportionment of representatives among the states. Washington believed the bill was unconstitutional, since it did not use a uniform ratio for apportionment.
Washington agreed with Thomas Jefferson and Edmund Randolph who also believed the Act would unfairly benefit certain states and create more representatives than prescribed by the Constitution. Congress was unable to override the veto and subsequently passed a new bill that met constitutional standards, which Washington signed on April 14, 1792. Washington vetoed a total of two bills during his two terms. His second veto was a bill to reduce the number of cavalry units in the military. Washington used the veto power only on bills he deemed unconstitutional or directly detrimental to national security, setting a high bar for the exercise of this executive power.
France declares war on Austria on April 20, 1792, marking the start of the French Revolutionary Wars.
The Committee of Public Safety is formed in France on April 6, 1793, during the French Revolution as a temporary wartime measure to combat foreign invasions and internal revolts. It quickly evolved into a de facto dictatorship of 12 men becoming the central instrument of the Reign of Terror (1793-1794) under the influence of radical Jacobins like Maximilien Robespierre.
Napoleon Bonaparte secures his first major victory on April 12, 1796 as Commander -in-Chief at the Battle of Montenotte, during his Italian campaign, where his forces along with André Masséna, decisively defeated the Austrian forces under Eugène-Guillaume Argenteau. This was followed by further wins which forced Austria to seek peace.
The Battle of Neuwied takes place on, April 18, 1797, during the War of the First Coalition, resulting in a decisive French victory over the Austrian Empire.
The Library of Congress is established in Washington, D.C., on April 24, 1800, with an initial appropriation of $5,000 for books. President John Adams signed the law which included a removal of the government from Philadelphia to Washington and funds to establish an apartment for President Adams and his family.
French Foreign Minister Charles Maurice de Talleyrand makes a surprising offer, on April 11, 1803, to Robert Livingston, the U.S. minister in France, to sell all of the Louisiana Territory to the United States. Livingston was trying to make a deal to purchase New Orleans, the gateway to the Mississippi River.
The unexpected offer came at a time when Napoleon Bonaparte desperately needed funds to finance his ongoing wars in Europe particularly with England and plans for a French New World empire were failing.The transaction with France to purchase 828,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River for $15 million was signed on April 30, 1803. As a result, the United States doubled its size, expanding the nation westward. More
The agreement for the purchase of the Louisiana Territory from France is formally completed and signed on April 30, 1803, with the United States purchasing 828,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River for $15 million, roughly 4 cents an acre, resulting in the United States doubling its size and expanding the nation westward. More