Welcome to this week’s History Thread! This week we’ll have an open thread so feel free to discuss what you will.

Today’s picture: On March 5, 1770 a group of American rowdies in Boston attacked a small British detachment outside the customs house. Escalating threats and attacks (the mob throwing rocks, ice and lobster shells at the soldiers) resulted in the British firing into the crowd, killing five and injuring six. The incident became a cause celebre among American patriots, who used it to rouse anti-British sentiment. The soldiers involved were tried for murder, but acquitted due in part to a spirit defense by John Adams, who felt it important to demonstrate that Americans were, in fact, not a mob of angry jerks. Nonetheless, the incident proved a major step towards agitating Americans towards the fight for independence.