The Intolerable Acts (mar 20, 1774 – mar 20, 1774)

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The Intolerable Acts (known as the Coercive Acts in Great Britain) were five acts. These were passed on March 20, 1774. Four of these were the British response to the Boston Tea Party. Three of them were directed at Massachusetts. Massachusetts was regarded by the British as being a very rebellious colony. One of the acts shut down the Boston Port until the British were paid back the value of the tea that was thrown overboard. The second act took away Massachusetts’ charter and put Massachusetts under British control. Nearly all government employees were to be appointed by the king, governor, or Parliament. The third act allowed British officials accused of wrongdoing in the colonies, to be tried in Britain, instead of Massachusetts courts. This was allowed if they feared they wouldn’t get a fair trial in Massachusetts. This particular act was called the ‘Murder Act’ by George Washington, as he believed it allowed British officers to get away with crimes committed in the colonies. Very few colonists could testify as Britain didn’t reimburse them for lost wages during the journey to and from Britain and the trial. The fourth act was the Quartering Act which allowed British troops to be housed in public buildings in the colonies, even unoccupied houses, if there was no room in the barracks. The fifth act, the Quebec Act, expanded the territory of Quebec, primarily to the southwest. It gave the French more power in the region, even though the British still had a considerable amount of control. It also gave the French Canadians the right to freely practice Catholicism. The colonies in America saw this a land grab by Britain (for the French Canadians) and the possible ‘establishment’ of Catholicism in the Canadian colony. The land and freedoms given to the French were seen as offensive, as France had been their enemy in the French and Indian War. The Intolerable Acts were met with much anger in the colonies. These acts are viewed as one of the major incidents that brought about the Revolutionary War.

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