In 1763, following the peace of paris, virtually all of north america that had been french, and much that had been spanish, was british. the english colonists held parades praising the king and the mother country and thomas pownall, a wartime governor of massachusetts would write, "nothing can eradicate from [the colonists'] hearts their natural, almost mechanical affection to great britain" and yet it would all soon go wrong. within thirteen years thirteen of britain's colonies had declared their independence and were waging a war of rebellion. how could this happen? include in the discussion the proclamation of 1763, the sugar act, the stamp act, the declaratory act, the townshend duties, the boston massacre, the tea act crisis, the coercive acts and any other important information.