The Intolerable Acts, known in Britain as the Coercive Acts, were a series of punitive laws passed by the British Parliament in 1774 to punish the Massachusetts colony for the Boston Tea Party. These acts were seen by American colonists as harsh and unjust, hence the name "Intolerable Acts." The main components of the Intolerable Acts included:
- Boston Port Act : Closed Boston Harbor until the East India Company was compensated for the destroyed tea and order was restored, effectively crippling Boston's trade
- Massachusetts Government Act : Revoked Massachusetts' charter, replaced the elected local government with an appointed council, increased the governor's power, and restricted town meetings, undermining self-governance
- Administration of Justice Act : Allowed British officials accused of crimes in the colonies to be tried in Britain or other colonies, denying locals a fair trial by peers
- Quartering Act : Required colonies to provide housing for British troops in unoccupied buildings at the colonists' expense, extending previous quartering laws to all colonies
Additionally, the Quebec Act was passed in the same session, expanding Quebec's territory and granting rights to French Catholics, which colonists also included among the Intolerable Acts due to its perceived threat, though it was unrelated to the Boston Tea Party
. These acts united the colonies in opposition, leading to the formation of the First Continental Congress in 1774, which coordinated colonial resistance and boycotts against British goods. The Intolerable Acts significantly escalated tensions that culminated in the American Revolutionary War
. In summary, the Intolerable Acts were a set of British laws intended to punish Massachusetts and assert control, but they instead galvanized colonial unity and resistance against British rule
