The main cause of the Boston Massacre, which occurred on March 5, 1770, was escalating tensions between American colonists and British soldiers stationed in Boston. The presence of British troops was resented by colonists, who viewed them as a force of oppression. On the night of the massacre, a confrontation escalated from verbal taunts to violence, resulting in British soldiers firing into a crowd and killing five men, including Crispus Attucks. The event inflamed anti-British sentiments and was used as propaganda by colonial leaders to galvanize opposition against British rule, eventually leading to the American Revolution.