What were the Intolerable Acts

Even though many have read about the American Revolution, not many know what were the intolerable acts which led to the final war of American independence which lasted from 1775 to 1783. These coercive intolerable acts were the names given to the 4 laws that had been passed by the British Parliament in 1774 against its 13 colonies in North America. These arbitrary laws further infuriated these colonies which rose up in revolt. Thus began the American Revolution and henceforth the creation of the United States of America as we know now. Let us find out as why exactly did the British Parliament feel the need to impose the intolerable Acts at this juncture of their colonial rule over North America. Also which were the 13 colonies that declared their independence.

The Thirteen Colonies

1. Delaware
2. Pennsylvania
3. New Jersey
4. Georgia
5. Connecticut
6. Massachusetts
7. Maryland
8. South Carolina
9. New Hampshire
10. Virginia
11. New York
12. North Carolina
13. Rhode Island

Each of these colonies developed their own system of self governance that being the major reason why each of the federal states in the USA still have their own distinct and individual Constitutions.

The Boston Tea Party

The history of the Intolerable Acts begins with the event of the Boston Tea Party which has become a memorable part of the American History. The 13 British colonies in North America were enraged by the 1765 Stamp Act as well as the recently passed 1773, Tea Act which had been passed by the British Parliament. The Tea Act restricted the shipments of tea that entered the colonies. The Colonies believed it violated the basic fundamental of "No Taxation Without Representation" which had been emerging as the popular belief ever since the 1750's and 1760's within the Colonies. The Colonies demanded the right of being taxed by their own elected representatives and not by the monopolistic East India Company owned by the British Government.

Therefore once the Tea Act came into place, the people finally rebelled, on December 16, 1773 the historic event known as the "The Destruction of Tea at Boston Harbor" or the more popularly known "Boston Tea Party" incident took place in a harbor of Massachusetts. The British officials under the orders of Royal Governor Thomas Hutchinson, refused to dispatch 3 colonially taxed Tea shipments to the United Kingdoms as they deemed these taxes as illegal and considered only their own as legitimate. Allowing the colonies to levy taxed on their tea would mean that they had self-governing rights. Which was unacceptable for the British Parliament.

On that day on refusal by the British officials to dispatch the shipments, a group of revolutionary colonialists boarded the ships and sunk 343 chests of tea by throwing them overboard into the Boston Harbor. It led to three more colonies following suit by preventing the unloading of their taxed tea by the British. This was the first official spark of revolt that finally led to the series of events that brought about the American declaration of independence. It became an iconic event for the world at large and many political uprisings took their influence from the Boston Tea party.

The Intolerable Acts of 1774

In order to fully understand the intolerable Acts and how did colonists react to them, it is necessary to identify the purpose behind the British Parliament's intentions. Why did they have to go ahead with the implementation of these new arbitrary acts. These coercive acts were created so as to take retribution from the colonies for their act of mutiny in Boston. The Intolerable Acts were ratified by King George III and the British Parliament in 1774, as a means of punishment that was to be meted out to the American colonies as well as to reinforce the Empires jurisdiction over all the colonies that had dared to rebel. Therefore the next logical question you'd ask is what were the 4 intolerable acts? The following were the controversial and coercive acts and they have been discussed in brief in this article:

Boston Port Act
The Boston Port Act was made into law on March 30, 1774 and it was one of the first coercive acts passed post Boston Tea Party. The British officials shut down the Boston port and offered to reopen it on two conditions, first being that the East India Company had to be monetarily compensated for all the damages caused by the destruction of the tea shipments. The second being that King George III's restitution of the Boston Harbor would happen only once he was satisfied that the order was restored among the colonies.
The colonists vehemently objected that the Port Act punished the entire populous of Boston. Their contention being that only the individuals responsible for the destruction of the tea should be punished and not the rest of the people, who demanded that they be given an opportunity to testify their innocence.

The people of Massachusetts were distressed because the port was their biggest source of supplies and it being shut down had cut off their essential provisions. Both the Loyalists as well as the Patriots unified under these conditions so as to seek help from the other colonies such as South Carolina. Therefore the Boston Port Act led to the convening of the first Continental Congress on September 5. 1774 in Philadelphia so as to coordinate a unified response to the Port Act and all other coercive Acts. The Continental Congress had the representation of 12 colonies from the 13 American colonies under the governance of the British Parliament.

Massachusetts Government Act
The Massachusetts Government Act was implemented on May 20, 1774, this law declared that the Massachusetts governments charter had been abrogated and that the colony was to be made a part of the British Empire. Therefore all the officials under the colonial Massachusetts governments were to be appointed by the British governor or by the King himself. That meant that the colony's House of Representatives could no longer enjoy the right to elect the members for its Executive Council. The act also severely curtailed the town meetings except as and when allowed by the governor.

This was countered by the Patriot leaders of Massachusetts who in revolt created the Massachusetts Provincial Congress in October 1774. This Congress acted as an independent government free from royal control, it began collecting taxes, buying supplies and even forming an army for itself. Thus began the initial stage for the American Revolution from this point on wards.

Administration of Justice Act
Is also popularly known as the Murdering Act. It was made into law on May 20, 1774 and it was intended to continue the blatant injustice that the American colonists had to face during the Boston Massacre in 1770, in which 5 colonist were brutally murdered by British soldiers. The Murder Act stated that the governor had the right to transfer the trials of accused royal officials to England, where they could get a fair and just trial. He believed that justice was not possible for royal troops within the jurisdiction of Massachusetts. It was also stated that the witnesses to these cases would be required to present themselves in the royal courts in Britain just so as to give their testimony and were to be paid for traveling to UK. This was considered as sheer harassment of the people and was vehemently opposed by the Patriots as well as George Washington who would later lead the Continental Army into battle against the British.

Quartering Act
The Quartering Act was applied on June 2, 1774 on all the 13 colonies. It aimed to create more conducive housing facilities for all the British troops stationed in America. The previous Quartering Act of 1765 had been rejected by the colonies as it violated their Bill of Rights of 1689. This Bill of Rights had rejected the colonies request for 'Taxation without Representation' and also mentioned that no standing army was to be raised or maintained within the colonies by the people of the colony. Therefore the colonies refused to entertain the British troops and provide accommodation for them.

Though the new Quartering Act imposed the arbitrary rule upon the colonies. It stated that a governor had the right to house soldiers in any other buildings that were unoccupied. Only if they could not find suitable quarters for themselves or if these quarters were not provided for them by the colonists. This insufferable act generated the least opposition from the colonists as they seemed submissive towards this settlement.

Therefore, now that you know more about the Intolerable Acts, you can experience a bit of the overall mutual resentment that the people of the colonies experienced at that time. This resentment led to full-fledged war in which the Americans rose up victorious and were no longer subservient to the British Empire. George Washington became one of the first elected US presidents of the independent USA and played a vital role in drafting the US Constitution as well. Now they are considered to be one of the greatest super powers of the world.