The Townshend Duties

Gerald Pollio ()

Chapter Chapter 10 in The Rise and Fall of Britain’s North American Empire, 2022, pp 149-156 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract The Townshend Duties had two key purposes: (1) to raise revenues in the colonies in ways that avoided the provocation inherent in the prior Stamp Act and (2) to provide financial support to the floundering East India Company (EIC). Four acts were passed within a matter of days in 1767, although only three related directly to taxation; the remaining measure, equally provocative, shut down the New York Assembly until it agreed to pay the expenses involved in quartering British troops there. The Revenue Act imposed duties on a range of goods, including tea, wine, lead, and glass, imported into the colonies. The Indemnity Act reduced duties on tea imported into England by the financially hard-pressed EIC, which were refunded once the tea was exported to the colonies. The final measure, the Commissioners of Customs Act, imposed a series of shipping and trade regulations to ensure the appropriate duties were paid. Conflicts erupted between the colonists and the Customs Board created to enforce the law, which led to British troops being sent to Boston to quell any opposition to the measure. Tensions increased between the townspeople and British soldiers culminating in the Boston massacre (1770).

Keywords: Revenue; Colonial reactions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-031-07484-4_10

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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-07484-4_10

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