New York Almanack

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Battle of Golden Hill

The Revolution’s First Bloodshed, New York’s Liberty Poles & The Battle of Golden Hill

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Philip Dawe’s The Bostonians Paying the Excise-man, or Tarring and Feathering (October 31, 1774, Library of Congress)After the end of the French and Indian War, there was tension over King George III and Parliament’s plan to tax the Colonies to pay off the war debt. John Wilkes, editor of The North Briton newspaper and a member of Parliament, opposed the King in his publications.

Wilkes’ most critical editorial was printed in 1763 in Issue # 45, a number highlighted to evoke memories of the Jacobite Uprising of 1745, commonly referred to as “The 45 Rebellion” or simply “45” in political culture. The King was personally offended and issued a warrant for Wilkes’ arrest. [Read more…] about The Revolution’s First Bloodshed, New York’s Liberty Poles & The Battle of Golden Hill