<P> The colonists responded by establishing the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, effectively removing Crown control of the colony outside Boston . Meanwhile, representatives from twelve colonies convened the First Continental Congress to respond to the crisis . The Congress narrowly rejected a proposal which would have created an American parliament to act in concert with the British Parliament; instead, they passed a compact declaring a trade boycott against Britain . Congress also affirmed that Parliament had no authority over internal American matters, but they were willing to consent to trade regulations for the benefit of the empire, and they authorized committees and conventions to enforce the boycott . The boycott was effective, as imports from Britain dropped by 97% in 1775 compared to 1774 . </P> <P> Parliament refused to yield . In 1775, it declared Massachusetts to be in a state of rebellion and enforced a blockade of the colony . It then passed legislation to limit colonial trade to the British West Indies and the British Isles . Colonial ships were barred from the Newfoundland cod fisheries, a measure which pleased Canadiens but damaged New England's economy . These increasing tensions led to a mutual scramble for ordnance and pushed the colonies toward open war . Thomas Gage was the British Commander - in - Chief and military governor of Massachusetts, and he received orders on April 14, 1775 to disarm the local militias . </P> <P> On April 18, 1775, 700 troops were sent to confiscate militia ordnance stored at Concord . Fighting broke out, forcing the regulars to conduct a fighting withdrawal to Boston . Overnight, the local militia converged on and laid siege to Boston . On March 25, 4,500 British reinforcements arrived with three senior generals; William Howe, John Burgoyne and Henry Clinton . On June 17, the British seized the Charlestown peninsular after a costly frontal assault, leading Howe to replace Gage . Many senior officers were dismayed at the attack which had gained them little, while Gage wrote to London stressing the need for a large army to suppress the revolt . On July 3, George Washington took command of the Continental Army besieging Boston . Howe made no effort to attack, much to Washington's surprise . After a plan to assault the city was rejected, in early March 1776, the Americans fortified Dorchester Heights with heavy artillery captured from a raid on Fort Ticonderoga . On March 17, the British were permitted to withdraw unmolested, sailing to Halifax, Nova Scotia . Washington then moved his army to New York . </P> <P> Meanwhile, British officials in Quebec began lobbying Native American tribes to support them, while the Americans attempted to maintain their neutrality . Fearing an Anglo - Indian attack from Canada, Congress authorized an invasion of Quebec . Quebec, with a largely Francophone population, had only been under British rule for twelve years, and the Americans expected that liberating them from the British would be welcomed . After an arduous march, the Americans attacked Quebec City on December 31, which was decisively defeated . After a loose siege, the Americans withdrew on May 6 . 1776 . A failed counter-attack on June 8 ended American operations in Quebec . However, the British could not conduct an aggressive pursuit, due to the presence of American ships on Lake Champlain . On October 11, the British defeated the American squadron, forcing the Americans to withdraw to Ticonderoga, ending the campaign . The invasion cost the Patriots their support in British public opinion, while aggressive anti-Loyalist policies diluted Canadien support . The Patriots continued to view Quebec as a strategic aim, though no further attempts to invade were ever realized . </P>

Where did fighting first occur between the british and the american colonists