The Boston Massacre first got invoked by the additions of new taxes put on the colonists by the British. These were called the Townshend Acts and placed taxes on paper, glass, and other things. This caused obvious rebellion among the colonists, as they felt taxation was unfair. The Boston Massacre officially started with a few British soldiers and around 50 colonists. The colonists did not like the British, for obvious reasons, but the sight of their weapons made them more upset. The colonists then began to shout at the soldiers and began to throw things, eventually knocking one down which caused him to shoot into the crowd. This killed three colonists and I believe it also injured a few more. John Adams took defense to the British troops in trial and ended up being their lawyer, he stated that they had acted purely in self defense and would have been killed by the crowd if they had not shot. This was typical of his character as John Adams was a fair man, although he was a Patriot and wanted the best for the colonists, he also believed that these men deserved a fair and balanced trial.