American Revolution

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Concurrent	American Revolutionary War
Concurrent	American Revolutionary War
American Revolution
Date	1765 – 1783
Place	American Colonies

The American Revolution was a political upheaval that took place in the latter half of the eighteenth century between 1765 and 1783. During this time, the Thirteen Colonies of North America desired to obtain more autonomy from Great Britain but the lack of representation in the British Parliament and the laws which increased the taxation in the colonies turned the desire of autonomy in independance. What began at a political and societal revolution culminated between 1775 and 1783 into the American Revolutionary War, between the colonists and the British crown. At the end of the war, the colonies were recognized as a new country, the United States of America.

The American Revolution, as many events in the History, was a part of the Assassin-Templar War, as the Templars organized the independance of the colonies to take control of the new country. The Assassins backed the revolutionnaries and tried to stop the Templar influence during the war and imposing their New World Order.

Context

The colonization of North America by the English began during the end of the 16th century. At the 18th century, the British Crown controlled most part of the east coast of North America. Even if every colonies had its own provincial assembly, the king appointed a governor for each colony and the colonists weren't represented in the British Parliament. In addition to that, the distance with the British islands increased for the colonists the sense of belonging more to America than to Britain.

The colonies also had conflicts with the natives of America, as the Iroquois, but also with the French colonists established in the north and west. The British and French crowns fought for the control of the land in America and made alliances with the indians tribes and constructed forts to gather the land. In 1754, a British milita led by George Washington attacked French troops. This act started the Seven Years' War between the French and the British. As the the colonies weren't unified, during the Albany Congress, the inventor and writer Benjamin Franklin militated for the creation of a central governement in the colonies to fight the French Army but it was rejected by the British Board.

At the same time, the Colonial Rite of the Templar Order were inspired by Franklin idea and joined the British crown in the war to unify the colonies under the British influence before took the independance from Great Britain. As the British fought the French, the Templars fought their sworn ennemies, the Colonial Brotherhood of Assassins, who side with the French troops. In 1763, the British won the war and took the major part of the French colonies. The same year, the Grand Master Haytham Kenway led a attack on the headquarters of the Assassins, the Davenport Homestead, which result to the near extermination of the Colonial Brotherhood and forcing the Mentor Achilles Davenport toabandon the Brotherhood against his life.

After the war, Britain had accumulated massive war debts. One solution to get rid of the debt was to directly tax the Thirteen Colonies. The tax also served to maintain the British Army. The colonists felt neglected by the British as many British colonists enrolled in the Army to defend their own land.

History

Contestation against taxation

In 1765, the British Government passed a series of acts to tax the colonists. One of them was the Stamp Act, which obliged all the colonists to purchase a government stamp for every legal papers. Many Bostonians protested against this Act under the Liberty Tree in August 1765. Some of them, like the politician and Assassins' ally Samuel Adams or the Templar Benjamin Church formed the Sons of Liberty, a group through the colonies that decided to protest against British taxation and to fight for the rights of the colonists. The Sons of Liberty led a mob which ransacked and burned the mansion of the Governor of Massachusetts Thomas Hutchinson. Even if the Stamp Act was repelled, other Acts passed to tax American colonists. In 1768, the Liberty, a sloop owned by the merchant John Hancock was seized by the British for smuggling. A year later, the Patriots burned the HMS Liberty, which was one of the first acts of open defiance against the British crown.

The 5th of March 1770, in Boston, a public argument about a wigmaker's bill turned in a mob surronding eight British soldiers at the steps of Old State House. The Captain Thomas Preston tried to calm the situation. The Templar Charles Lee created the confusion by firing on a rooftop. The soldiers, believing that the mob was armed, shot on the civilians, killing five persons and wounding six others. The Kanien'kehá:ka Ratonhnhaké:ton, an Assassin initiate and Haytham Kenway's son, was accused of firing on the soldiers as he tried to stop another Templar sniper. The Mohawk was helped by Samuel Adams who used his connections in the printing press to erase the implication of Ratonhnhaké:ton. The event was remembered as the Boston Massacre, and the silversmith and Patriot Paul Revere mediatized this event to showing the crualty of British Government. The soldiers were judged for murder. John Adams, Samuel's cousin, defended them and acquited six of them. The two others were convicted for manslaughter. The British troops were removed from Boston. This events increased the division between Patriots and Loyalists.

In 1772, Samuel Adams created one of the first Committees of Correspondence in Boston, informing the Patriots through the colonies. In 1773, the British governmenr passed the Tea Act, permitting to the East India Company to sell tea directly in the colonies, making it cheaper than the tea sold by the smugglers. The Templar William Johnson smuggled tea in Boston and sold it using using the tax on the tea to finance the purchase of the Iroquois lands to protect them from the colonists once the independance reached. The Sons of Liberty oppossed to the Tea Act, as it was a way to pay tax without representation. The Sons of Liberty were helped by Ratonhnhaké:ton, who was at this time a full-pledged Assassin and known as Connor. The Assassin with Stephane Chapheau interfered in Johnson's traffic. As the Governor Hutchinson refused to sent back the ships, the 16 December 1773, Connor and the Sons of Liberty boarded ships from the British East India Company which were docked at Griffin's Wharf and threw hundreds of tea crates into the sea, ruining Johnson in the process. This event became known as the Boston Tea Party, which is commonly accepted as the start of the Revolution.

After the Boston Tea Party, the British Parliament chose the General Thomas Gage as the Governor of Massachusetts. His troops occupied Boston and the Coercive Acts were passed, closing the Boston Harbor and replacing the elected Massachusetts legislature with an appointed one. The Quebec Act expanded the territory of the province of Quebec by granting lands on the Indian Reserve. Many colonists in this territory were outraged by this act. Connor sent his apprentices to calm the situation. The Assassins also investigated during the Powder Alarm, after the Governor Gage seized the gunpowder from militia's magazines. The colonists tried to hide their reserves from the British Army. In September, delegates of the Thirteen Colonies formed the first Continental Congress in Philadelphia to oppose the Coercive Acts. Among the delegates there were Washington, John and Samuel Adams, John Sullivan and as president of the Congress Peyton Randolph. The Congress decided to boycott the British goods until the Coercive Acts was reapelled. The 19 October, the Assassins participated to the Annapolis Tea Party, burning a tea cargo, and the 22 December, they burned the tea cargaison of the loyalist Dan Bowen at Greenwich in New Jersey.

War for independance

In April 1775, the Patriot leaders as Samuel Adams and John Handcock left Boston. As intelligence said the colony militia stocked weapons, Gage tried to stop the rebel leaders. The Templar and Major John Pitcairn was sent with a regiment to negociate with Adams and Hancock, and prevent a war between the Loyalists and the Patriots. Connor, who assassinated William Johnson, found a letter of Pitcairn and believed that the Templars tried to kill Adams and Hancock. The 18 April, the Assasin met in Paul Revere House Revere, William Dawes and Robert Newman. The three men wanted to warn the Patriots about the impending attack of the British troops. Connor decided to help them. While Newman and others setting lanterns to indicate the location of the attack, Dawes and Revere rode to Lexington to warn Adams and Hancock. Connor accompagnied Revere and arrived in the Hancock-Clarke House before Dawes and the regulars. They told to the Adams and Hancock to leave the city as their lives were in danger.

The 19th of April, Pitcairn arrived in Lexington with his troops but John Parker organized the defense of the city with his militia. The battle began between the two army. Connor and some militian withdrew to Concord to warn James Barrett of the skirmish. Revere, Dawes and Samuel Prescott also went to Concord but Revere was captured by the British. When the regulars arrived in Concord, the militia commanded by Connor defended the Old North Bridge. The militia held the position and the British army suffered major loses. Pitcairn retreated with his men to Boston. The Battles of Lexington and Concord was the first engagement of the Revolutionnary War. After their victory, the Patriots began the Siege of Boston.

In May 1775, the Second Continental Congress met at Philadelphia and decided to take charge of the war. Hancock was chosen as the president of the Congress after the death of Peyton Randolph. The 4th June was created the Continental Army with George Washington as his commander. The Templars tried use the revolution to place their men in the new governement. Charles Lee was chosen as the second in command in the Continental Army. Benjamin Church was elected Chief Physician and Director General of the Continental Army. The Templar Thomas Hickey, a criminal of New York City's underworld, became one of Washington's bodyguard. The Templar Nicholas Biddle, who was a sailor in the Royal Navy, became one of the first captains of the Continental Navy. The Templar and British Governor of Connecticut Jonathan Trumbull sided with the Patriots and became one of the first american governors. But in other colonies as the Delaware and Maryland the Templars tried to shut down the Revolution. The Assassins promoted the Revolution in the population and killed the Templars in this colonies.

The British sent reinforcement troops with the generals William Howe, Henry Clinton and John Burgoyne in Boston to break the siege. The 17th of June, the British Army and the Continental Army led by Israel Putnam fought for the control of Bunker Hill. During the battle, Connor killed John Pitcairn and discovered a letter from the Templars who plotted to assassinate Washington to make Charles Lee Commander-in-Chief of the Army. On July 2, Washington took the lead of the siege. During the siege the Loyalists took woods from Patriots' houses, churches and even chopped down the Liberty tree for firewood. The Colonial Assassins tried to stop the siege rapidly. They gave food suplies for the civilians in Boston but also help the american General Henry Knox to place his cannons on Dorchester Heights. The British troops surrendered and evacuated the city the 17th of March 1776. Many Loyalists also evacuated the city after the Patriots took control of the city. With Boston, the Continental Army controlled all the Massachusetts.

During the Siege of Boston, the Continental Army discovered that Benjamin Church gave informations to the Governor Gage. He was under arrest and was expelled from the Templars for sabotaging their plan to make the colonies independant. In July 1775, the Continental troops was led by the generals Benedict Arnold, William Thompson and Richard Montgomery to liberate the Canada from the British rule and joined the Revolution. The Assassins participated to the campaign, helping the Continental Army but also protecting Quebec from the Patriots as the city never asked to be liberate. Montgomery was assassinated as he led an attack on Quebec. In October 1776, the Continental Army retreated from Canada as the Governor of Quebec and Major Guy Carleton led the counteroffensive.

In January 1776, Thomas Paine published the Common Sense, a pamphlet where Paine explained why the colonies must take ther independance and developped the ideals of republicanism. The book was a sensation among the population as Paine wrote it to be understand by the commoners. This increased the support of the Continental Congress by the colonists. The same month, the New Hampshire Province was the first of the Thirteen Colonies to establish an independant governement, known as sthe New Hampshire State. The Assassins watched that the Templars didn't take power in the new state. Later the other Colonies established themself as states. In June, the Continental Congress searched to formalize the independance of the Thirteen States. The delegates Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert Livingston worked on the draft of the Declaration of Independence. The document was mainly the work of Jefferson and was presented to the Congress to be adopt.

Meanwhile, Major Benjamin Tallmadge, a spy for the Continental Army, investigated on the plot to assassinate Washington and discovered that the bodyguard Thomas Hickey was the hitman. As his father was an Assassin, Tallmadge asked help to Connor to stop Hichey in New York City. The Assassin tracked Hickey in the city but they were arrested and sent to Bridewell Prison as Hickey counterfeiting money. The Templars liberated Hickey and accused Connor for the murder of the prision's director and for plotting to kill Washington. The Templars would profit of the execution to kill Washington. The 28 June, Connor was hung at the stake but his father cut the rope with a Throwing knife. The Assassins also intervened to help Connor. As Hickey try to assassinated Washington, Connor killed the Templar. After this Connor went to Philadelphia to warn Washington about the War between the Assassins and the Teplars but his Mentor refused as it would be more dangerous for the Commander-in-Chief. The 4 August, the Declaration of Independence was ratified and Connor assisted of the first signatories. The others delegated were protected by the Assassins during the road to Philadelphia.

Game of alliances

Since 1775, the Continental Congress had connection with other factions to help it in the war. The French playwright and spy Pierre Beaumarchais founded the shell corporation Roderigue Hortalez and Company to sell arms and gunpowder to the Patriots. In 1776, one of the ships' company, La Belladonna was attacked by the Royal Navy in the Caribbean Sea. Connor protected her with his own ship, the Aquila and discovered the Continental Captain Nicholas Biddle worked with the British Navy to make American coasts more dangerous and convinced the Congress to develop the Continental Navy with Biddle as his firts Admiral.

In 1783, the Treaty of Paris was signed, and the United States had officially gained their independence.

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