Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was a pre-Revolutionary incident in 1770 that grew out of competition and clashes for scarce competition between British soldiers and local workers and the resentment against the British troops sent to Boston to maintain order and to enforce the Townshend Acts. British troops fired on a rioting crowd and killed five men, including a mulatto sailor named Crispus Attucks.
The Boston Massacre became a symbol of British oppression and brutality. The victims were considered martyrs. Paul Revere created a famous engraving that falsely portrayed the incident as a calculated assault on a peaceful crowd. Also, the leading figure in stirring public outrage over the massacre was Samuel Adams.