“The die is now cast. The colonies must either submit or triumph.”

King George III

Two hundred and fifty years ago, relations between the fledgling United States and the colonial power of Britain were strained. At this point, there were 13 colonies, all subject to British rule – but in 1773, a row over tea taxation had led to the Boston Tea Party protest. In 1774, Britain fought back with the Intolerable Acts (also known as he Coercive Acts) – a set of legislation targeted at Massachusetts in particular and imposing punishments, including the removal of self-government and the right to representation in Britain’s Parliament.