CR - British response to Boston Tea Party ( Intolerable Acts) Flashcards
Why did Britain feel that the Coercive Acts were necessary?
The British government could not allow it’s authority to be challenged in such a flagrant way as the Boston Tea Party
- Boston was seen as the centre of trouble and therefore it was decided that it had to be punished
How did Britain respond to the Boston Tea Party?
A series of acts, the Coercive Acts (known as the Intolerable Acts by the colonists) were passed
What acts were part of the series of ‘Intolerable Acts’?
- Boston Port Act
- Massachusetts Government Act
- Administration of Justice Act
- Quartering Act
- (Quebec Act)
What year were the Intolerable Acts passed?
1774
What did the Boston Committee of Correspondence draft in response to the intolerable acts?
Solemn League and Covenant - committed Boston to a boycott of British goods
What is the Boston Port Act?
Stated that the port of Boston would remain closed (until the destroyed tea was paid for)
What was the inadvertent response of Britain’s Intolerable Acts (relating to the other colonies)?
Britain’s actions served to unite the colonies
What is the Massachusetts Government Act?
This act meant that the Massachusetts charter was revised so that the authority of the governor was increased at the expense of the assembly
What is the Administration of Justice Act?
This act meant that trials of royal officials could be transferred to England or another colony to ensure that they were ‘fair’
What is the Quartering Act?
This act gave the British military power to house their troops in private homes
What is the Quebec Act?
The Quebec Act:
- Extended Quebec’s territory south, invalidating colonial claims to land in the Ohio Valley
- Control of Quebec was placed solely in the hands of a crown-appointed governor (who would rule without an elected assembly)
- The principle of freedom of worship was upheld, guaranteeing free practice of Catholicism for French Canadians
- French civil law was to be retained, limiting trial by jury
Why did the Quebec Act upset colonists?
- It appeared as if Britain was determined to put the whole of America under authoritarian rule and subdue the colonies
- The concept of rule without an elected assembly suggested that colonial liberties were soon to be destroyed
- The extension of the Quebec boundary also appeared to be an attempt to stop further westward expansion and prevent the further economic development of the colonies
- Widely thought that Catholicism and French Law were tyrannical
