Why do you think that control of Boston early in the Revolutionary War was important?
1 Answer
Because the King saw Boston as the lynchpin of American leadership, control it and you control the colonies.
Explanation:
In 1775 Boston was a city of approximately 15,000 inhabitants. Starting in the early 1770s and peaking in 1775 more and more British soldiers were stationed in Boston. By March 1775 they numbered roughly 5000, or one soldier for every 3 people in Boston.
Until the outbreak of hostilities in April 1775, Boston and the Massachusetts colony had been the hotbed of resistance to British rule and British law. Samuel Adams and his Sons of Liberty had been volatile since 1770 and they were a continuous thorn in the side of the King.
In 1774 the King ordered that all guns and powder be removed from colonists ownership, which was contrary to British law. Gen. Gage made no fewer than 6 forays to various cities to capture the guns and powder stored in those locations and not once was he able to capture a thing.
The rest of the colonies were absolutely calm compared to what was going on in Boston and its environs.
