The Boston Massacre – How Many People Died?

Well, that depends on what you mean by Boston Massacre. If you’re asking how many were killed, the answer is three.

And if you’re asking how many died, the answer might be as many as seven people, depending on how you define death in your investigation of this historic event in American history.

For more information, here’s our full breakdown of the casualties of The Boston Massacre.

Nine British soldiers fired a round of bullets from their muskets at five people out of a crowd of three or four hundred. This direct action caused three people to die as a result.

The reason for this shooting is because the colonials were throwing rocks and snowballs at the soldiers.

They were unhappy with the British Parliament’s decision to increase taxes without consulting them first, which affected their ability to pay for goods and food.

Five People Were Wounded Of the five people wounded, two died of their wounds and another person died ten days later.

Boston Tea Party Tea Act 1773, Protests against the British Tea Act (Tax)

The Aftermath

After the shooting, tensions between the colonists and British soldiers built up leading to the battles of Lexington and Concord. This was one of the first skirmishes in what would become known as the American Revolutionary War.