THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM: 1770-1773

There was an apparent calm in relations between the British and the colonies between 1770 and 1773. Import duties were collected on a regular basis. The tea tax was still in effect; some colonists boycotted British tea, but some drank it openly. Resistance again occurred first in Massachusetts. Samuel Adams established a Committee of Correspondence in Boston. Similar groups were created throughout Massachusetts, Virginia, and other colonics as well. These groups were designed to share information on British activities in the Americas, as well as to share details of demonstrations, protests, and so on. Some historians argue that these Committees of Correspondence were the first permanent machinery of protest in the colonies.