Colonies are places ruled by a country far away. Long ago Britain had colonies in North America. People living in colonies are called colonists.
In 1775, the colonists were not happy with Britain. They did not want to be ruled by Britain. They wanted to be their own country.
The colonists decided to fight, so they collected weapons. Britain heard about the weapons. Britain wanted to take them away.
The colonists learned that British soldiers wanted to take their weapons. They prepared to fight. They waited in a town called Lexington.
The British soldiers arrived. Then someone fired a shot. Maybe it was a British soldier. Maybe it was a colonist. No one knows who fired it.
