The Intolerable Acts

The Intolerable Acts

Issued by British Parliament

Passed on March 31, 1774, and June 2, 1774;
excerpted from Documents of American History,
1958, and American Journey (CD-ROM), 1995

"… dangerous commotions and insurrections have been fomented and raised in the town of Boston, in the province of Massachuset's Bay, in New England, by divers ill-affected persons, to the subversion of his Majesty's government, and to the utter destruction of the public peace, and good order of the said town…."

From the Boston Port Act, one of the Intolerable Acts

The Tea Act of 1773, which was soon followed by the Intolerable Acts, was passed because Parliament was trying to save the British-owned East India Company from going out of business. The company was ailing because Americans were refusing to import British tea (instead, it was being smuggled in from Holland). Parliament decided to impose small, secret taxes on East India tea (the taxes would be paid in London before the tea reached the colonies). Parliament thought that even with the secret tax, the tea would still be so cheap Americans would prefer to buy it rather than the more expensive tea they were smuggling in from elsewhere.

But Americans saw through this trick.

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