Answer:
1. It is a primary source because it was painted by someone who saw the Boston Massacre firsthand. However, it's also important to understand that, even though it is a primary source, it's not necessarily accurate, given that the painter, Paul Revere, was an American revolutionary who aimed to paint (pun intended) the British in a bad light.
2. The two groups are:
- British soldiers stationed in the Boston (possibly on King Street)
- and
- townspeople mocking them.
3. The perspective of who painted this matters because it depicts the British soldiers as perpetrators of a "massacre" when, in fact, the townspeople had been harrassing and throwing snowballs at the troops, leading to an accidental gun discharge and, later, a confused ensuing shooting.
4. This image, especially spread as propaganda within the colonies, helped foster a feeling of unfair treatment by the British.
5. This propaganda did serve its purpose, but in the end, the soldiers accused of "massacring" a few townspeople were acquitted after being defended by John Adams in trial.