* January 1: The Virginia House of Burgesses passes the first of a series of resolutions against the Townshend Acts, prompting other colonies to follow suit.
* January 10: The British frigate HMS _Rose_ arrives in Newport, Rhode Island, to enforce the Townshend Acts.
* January 22: The British Navy seizes the sloop _Liberty_ in Boston, Massachusetts, for alleged smuggling.
* January 27: John Wilkes is expelled from the House of Commons for the fourth time.
February
* February 2: The Boston Massacre occurs when British soldiers fire on a crowd of colonists, killing five and injuring six others.
* February 12: The Townshend Acts are repealed by the British Parliament.
* February 25: The Battle of Golden Hill occurs in New York City between British soldiers and colonists.
March
* March 5: The Boston Massacre trials begin.
* March 12: The British government sends troops to Boston to enforce order.
* March 20: The Trial of the Boston Massacre soldiers begins.
* March 23: The Trial of the Boston Massacre soldiers ends with six of the soldiers being acquitted and two being found guilty of manslaughter.
April
* April 19: The British Parliament passes the Tea Act, which gives the British East India Company a monopoly on the sale of tea in the colonies.
* April 25: The first British troops arrive in Boston.
May
* May 10: The Boston Tea Party occurs when colonists dump 342 chests of tea into the Boston Harbor in protest of the Tea Act.
June
* June 17: The Massachusetts Provincial Congress meets to discuss the British response to the Boston Tea Party.
* June 22: The British Parliament passes the Coercive Acts, also known as the Intolerable Acts, in response to the Boston Tea Party.
July
* July 4: The First Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia to discuss the British response to the Boston Tea Party.
August
* August 23: The Battle of Point Pleasant occurs in present-day West Virginia between Virginia colonists and Shawnee Indians.
September
* September 5: The First Continental Congress adjourns.
* September 18: The British East India Company sends tea ships to Boston.
October
* October 18: The Battle of Lexington and Concord occurs, marking the beginning of the American Revolution.
November
* November 1: The Second Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia.
December
* December 16: The Battle of Great Bridge occurs in present-day Virginia between British soldiers and Virginia colonists.