Lesson 2G.1.1

2G.1.1 Origins of the American Revolution, 1760–1776 Quiz: AQA History, Unit 18

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson 2G.1.1, Origins of the American Revolution, 1760–1776: 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA History (7042), Unit 18: 2G The Birth of the USA, 1760–1801, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. Which 1763 treaty ended the Seven Years' War and left Britain in control of North America east of the Mississippi?

    • The Treaty of Paris
    • The Treaty of Utrecht
    • The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle
    • The Treaty of Ghent

  2. What did the Proclamation of 1763 do?

    • It forbade colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains
    • It abolished slavery in the Thirteen Colonies
    • It declared independence from Britain in the colonies
    • It granted the colonists the right to elect their own governors

  3. Which 1765 Act imposed a direct tax on printed materials such as newspapers, legal documents and playing cards?

    • The Sugar Act
    • The Quebec Act
    • The Townshend Acts
    • The Stamp Act

  4. Which slogan summed up colonial objections to the Stamp Act and other taxes passed by Parliament?

    • Liberty or death at the frontier
    • Trade free or not at all
    • Life, liberty and property for all
    • No taxation without representation

  5. Which 1767 Acts imposed import duties on glass, lead, paper and tea?

    • The Coercive Acts
    • The Townshend Acts
    • The Stamp Acts
    • The Navigation Acts

  6. What was the Boston Massacre of March 1770?

    • British troops were ambushed by Native Americans on the frontier
    • Colonists attacked a British fort and seized the powder supplies
    • British soldiers fired on a crowd of colonists, killing five people
    • Colonial militia destroyed a British warship in Boston harbour

  7. What was the Boston Tea Party of December 1773 a protest against?

    • The Stamp Act, which had been reintroduced in 1773
    • The Quebec Act, which extended the boundaries of Canada
    • The Tea Act, which gave the East India Company a monopoly on tea sales
    • The Proclamation of 1763, which restricted western settlement

  8. Which group of British acts of 1774 was designed to punish Massachusetts after the Boston Tea Party?

    • The Navigation Acts
    • The Stamp Acts
    • The Coercive Acts, also called the Intolerable Acts
    • The Townshend Acts

  9. Which 1774 Act extended the boundaries of Quebec and guaranteed its Catholic population the right to practise their religion?

    • The Quebec Act
    • The Stamp Act
    • The Declaratory Act
    • The Proclamation Act

  10. Which colonial assembly met in Philadelphia in September 1774 to coordinate opposition to Britain?

    • The Second Continental Congress
    • The First Continental Congress
    • The Stamp Congress
    • The Albany Congress

  11. Which pamphlet by Thomas Paine, published in January 1776, argued for American independence from Britain?

    • Letters from a Farmer
    • Common Sense
    • Poor Richard's Almanack
    • The Federalist Papers

  12. Which British general commanded the troops in Boston in 1775 and was the military governor of Massachusetts?

    • General Howe
    • General Gage
    • General Burgoyne
    • General Cornwallis

  13. Which battles in April 1775 marked the outbreak of fighting between British troops and colonial militia?

    • Lexington and Concord
    • Trenton and Princeton
    • Bunker Hill and Breed's Hill
    • Saratoga and Freeman's Farm

  14. Who was the principal author of the first draft of the Declaration of Independence?

    • Samuel Adams
    • Benjamin Franklin
    • Thomas Jefferson
    • John Adams

  15. What were colonists who remained loyal to the British Crown during the Revolution called?

    • Whigs
    • Patriots
    • Federalists
    • Loyalists

  16. Which colonial group, which included Samuel Adams, organised protests against British taxes and was involved in the Boston Tea Party?

    • The Sons of Liberty
    • The Continental Army
    • The Minutemen
    • The Whig Club of London

  17. Which best explains the growth of colonial opposition to Britain between 1763 and 1775?

    • New British taxes and controls, combined with colonial ideas of rights, created a movement that grew stronger with each measure
    • Colonists had little interest in politics and accepted every tax passed by Parliament
    • The French forces stayed in Canada, so colonists felt threatened and called for independence
    • The colonial assemblies were abolished in 1765, which caused the colonists to form a new state government

  18. Which best evaluates the political origins of the Declaration of Independence?

    • It was a response to the Quebec Act alone, with no link to the earlier disputes over taxation
    • It was written by the British Parliament to justify the end of colonial rule
    • It was an entirely religious document with no connection to politics or ideas of rights
    • It drew on Enlightenment ideas of natural rights and the long dispute over taxation, representation and imperial control

  19. Which best explains why Britain found it difficult to control the colonies after 1763?

    • The British army was too large to be moved across the Atlantic in time
    • The colonies were controlled entirely by the French, so Britain had no authority there
    • The distance of the colonies, the strength of colonial assemblies and the difficulty of enforcing unpopular taxes limited British control
    • The colonies had no social or economic links with Britain, so British policy had no influence

  20. Which best explains why Thomas Paine's Common Sense was influential in 1776?

    • It was a technical treatise on trade and tariffs that few colonists could understand
    • It used plain language to argue that monarchy was unnatural and that independence was practical and necessary
    • It was written by a loyalist and published in London to persuade the colonists to submit
    • It defended the British constitution and argued against any change in colonial government

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