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Essay / Assessment of the Brutal Boston Murders of 1770
Thomas Preston and an anonymous account from March 13, 1770 relate an event that occurred 8 days previously, witnessed between colonists and British soldiers residing in the Boston area. In 1767, Parliament passed a series of laws within the colonies, better known as the Townshend Acts. Its stipulations included taxes on tea, paint, paper, glass and lead, restricting goods purchased by colonists to those sourced only from their mother country, returning British troops to the colonies and away from Appalachia , and last but not least, granting officials assistance warrants to search and seize any contraband goods. These acts were generally hated among the settlers. They wrote letters, participated in boycotts, and resisted military force sent to enforce these acts. A particular case of military resistance deserves a more in-depth analysis: it is the “massacre” of Boston. The settlers' account of distress in Boston cannot be trusted because it is anonymous, overly exaggerated, and biased. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The anonymous account of the events that occurred in Boston, Massachusetts, on March 13, 1770, is suspect and contains a lot of discrimination against towards the British forces. It was written 8 days after the event. Explicitly, the reader can see that this letter was intended to be received by other colonists, with the aim of raising patriotic or anti-British morale and/or for the Crown to inspire sympathy and shame among the British troops. The narrative often characterizes the troops as “violent” – often “assaulting” and “mistreating” settlers. The narrative acknowledges the “quarrels and unease” between the two parties. However, he neglects to indicate what role was played or what violence was meted out by the colonial men. This leads the reader to believe that the settlers were more or less innocent in this matter or that they took no action to defend themselves. The author writes his account as if calling for punishment of the British troops involved. He described the British troops as an unpleasant people, "difficult to approach on office matters" and who exhibited "a haughty behavior which made them disgusting to people in general". As the hatred between the two sides moved from words to blows and even musket fire, the account lists all the settlers who had been injured or killed. The anonymous author takes care to describe them as “subjects of His Majesty” to inspire readers with feelings of compassion towards the colonists. The above-mentioned narrative is a misrepresentation of British troops and is primarily intended to undermine their reputation within the colonies. Captain Thomas Preston, in his account of March 5, 1770, describes a similarly hostile situation. However, it seems that the British troops are on the defensive and the colonists are on the offensive. His account was recorded on the same date as the anonymous document, March 13, 1770. Reading Captain Preston's account, one might infer that he wrote in the hope of gaining sympathy from loyalist settlers or even to encourage patriots to understand the British troops. 'difficult situation. He repeatedly emphasizes that “[his] intention was not to act in an offensive manner, quite the contrary”. Upon his arrival in the Boston colony, Preston emphasized the "malicious character of the people" against himself and his troops. Preston makes it clear to the audience how "the locals were constantly provoking and abusing the soldiers." The settlers' "total hatred" of the troops led them to plan a.