Townshend Acts

When was the New York Restraining Act passed?

March 1767

Why was the NYRA passed?

to enforce the Quartering Act of 1765 (required colonial assemblies to make provision for quartering and supplying British troops)
NY had refused to comply because the act fell disproportionately on them being the HQ of the British army in America

What was the NYRA?

New York assembly prohibited from taking any legislative action until it complied with the Quartering Act

Reaction of colonies to NYRA

most colonists disliked the notion of Parliament being able to suspend or change legislatures at will but the NY assembly, lacking the support from other colonies, now agreed to support the troops

Why were the Townshend Duties passed?

- to pay for colonial royal officials to prevent them from being swayed by colonial opinion

When were the Townshend Duties passed?

May 1767

How much revenue were the Townshend duties expected to make?

£40,000 a year
BUT some MPs realised this calculation was a mistake

What were the Townshend Duties?

new duties on colonial imports of glass, wine, china, lead, paint, paper, and tea
established an American Board of Customs Commissioners - stationed in Boston

Why did Townshend think his duties were fair?

the new duties were unquestionably external (and relatively light)
Franklin had denied parliament's authority to enforce an internal tax but conceded its right to regulate trade, even if such a measure produced revenue during the SA crisis.

Letters from a Pennsylvania Farmer

- series of 12 letters published by John Dickinson
- denounced the Townshend Duties by demonstrating that many of the arguments employed against the Stamp Act were valid against the Townshend Duties as well
- inspired anti-British sentiment throughout the colonies
- condemned the suspension of the NY assembly as a blow to colonial liberty
- 'If the Parliament may lawfully deprive NY of any of her rights, it may deprive any or all the other colonies of their rights'
- 'to divide and thus to destroy' - called for united action

What did the MA Circular Letter do and when was it written?

Februrary 1768
condemned the Townshend Acts as violating the principle of 'No Taxation w/o Representation' and appealed to other colonies for united action

What was the response to the MA Circular Letter?

- 7 colonial assemblies quickly approved the letter
- VI assembly sent its own circular letter advocating joint measures against any British actions which have 'made an immediate tendancy to enslave them'

Economic resistance

1768 - Boston leads way in organising a boycott, other towns followed (albeit slowly in some cases)
many merchants opposed non-importation, so boycott never total
by 1769, every colony except NH had organisations pledged to boycott British goods, complemented by individuals not buying goods

What were 'committees of inspection'?

unofficial bodies that were set up to enforce non-importation
merchants who did not comply had their warehouses broken into and goods damaged as well as facing the threat of violence (e.g. tarr and feather)

Significance of non-importation

- provides considerable scope for popular activity, touched the lives of ordinary people, offering them a means of effective action
- strengthened the moral resolve of the colonists

June 1768

50-gun British warship, Romney, sent into Boston harbour, emboldened by this, commissioners seized the Liberty (small vessel owned by radical John Hancock)
mob soon marched to the port and a scuffle began
sailors from the Romney boarded Liberty and took the boat out of the harbour
faced with threats of violence, the customs officals were forced to take refuge on Castle William

By summer 1768...

the Sons of Liberty controlled Boston

Who was Hillsborough?

Secretary of State for colonial and American matters

MA assembly

- Hillsborough orders MA assembly to rescind the circular letter, on penalty of dissolution
- assembly votes not to do so and Gov Bernard dissolved the assembly, which only worsened matters (another issue to campaign on)

Late September 1768

600 British troops arrive in Boston on Bernard's request
gave town's disaffection another focus, constant aggarvation:
- problems of barracking and quartering them
- Bostonians were harassed by British patrols (used to living their life with minimum interfence)
- off-duty soldiers sought to improve their incomes by taking part-time jobs (for less money which caused serious tension and competition heightened between colonists and troops)
- newspapers reported (often fabricated) stories of brutality and debauchery among troops

22 February 1770

suspected customs informer killed an 11 yr old boy - Sons of Liberty turned funeral into mass demonstration attended by 5000 Bostonians

2 March 1770

rope factory workers attacked some soldiers seeking jobs, a pitched battle ensued

5 March 1770

detachment of British soldiers guarding the customs house was attacked by a mob hurling hard-packed snowballs
the troops, under extreme provocation, opened fire and killed 5 Bostonians
Sam Adams and Paul Revere gave the impression of a deliberate massacre
American cause now had matyrs

Court case of Boston Massacre

8 of the soldiers were essentially brought to trial, 6 acquitted after a skilful defence by John Adams
2, found guilty of manslaughter, were released after being branded on the thumb

Situation by 1770

- insufficent troops to impose order
- relations betwen American assemblies and British authorites have broken down
- 'we know not how to advance, they know not how to retreat ... some party must give way' Edmund Burke
- BUT colonial unity not total (elites look down on mob action, non-importation not uniformly observed)

Repeal

failing to raise a significant revenue, penalising British exports to the colonies and stirred up so much resistance
repealed all duties in March 1770 by Lord North except from that on tea 'as a mark of the supremacy of Parliament'