Everything about The Townshend Acts totally explained
The
Townshend Acts (1767) passed by Parliament on
29 June 1767 refer to two
Acts of the
Parliament of Great Britain passed in 1767, which were proposed by
Charles Townshend. These
laws placed a
tax on common products imported into the
American Colonies, such as lead, paper, paint, glass, and tea. It also granted certain duties in the
British Colonies. The money that was earned helped pay for the British governors and the other officials in the colonies. This Act also gave the revenue from the taxes to the British governors that were normally paid by town assemblies. In contrast to the
Stamp Act of 1765, the laws were not a direct tax, but a tax on imports. The Townshend Acts also created three new
admiralty courts to try Americans. This taxation was a result of the cost of the
French and Indian War. It was felt that since the outcome of the war benefited the colonies, it was only proper that they bear a portion of the financial burden.
This act reaffirmed the legality of
writs of assistance which gave tax collectors permission to search for smuggled goods. Often, these smuggled goods were sold in England and in the European countryside. Therefore creating more income for the British.
The Acts led to outrage among the colonists and helped spark the
Liberty seizure and
riots of 1768. The colonists' opposition to these acts was well stated in the phrase "No taxation without representation", originally spoken by
James Otis. Smugglers avoided the taxes by importing illegal goods and by organizing a
boycott of the legitimate imports.
Samuel Adams and the
Sons of Liberty of
Boston were notable supporters of this
boycott. The women of the colonies also contributed. They wove their own cloth and yarn, and helped in the boycott of British goods, and formed the
Daughters of Liberty. The colonists were very outraged at this act, as
John Hancock and other smugglers were negatively affected. After a while, the taxes were finally repealed. Eventually,
John Dickinson raised support to repeal the Revenue Acts by a series of 12 essays entitled "
Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania", addressing himself as "A Farmer".
In April 1770, this Act was repealed except for a tax that was retained on tea. This remaining tax led to the
Boston Tea Party.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Townshend Acts'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://townshend_acts.totallyexplained.com">Townshend Acts Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
