Step 1 : Introduction to the question "What iconic event occurred on May 5, 1770?"
The Boston Massacre occurred on this day in 1770 when British soldiers in Boston opened fire on a group of American colonists. Tensions between the American colonists and the British were already running high when a crowd of jeering Bostonians slinging snowballs gathered around a small group of British soldiers guarding the Boston Customs House. Private Hugh Montgomery was hit, leading him to discharge his rifle at the crowd. The other soldiers began firing a moment later, and when the smoke cleared, five colonists were dead.
