The Townshend Acts were a series of four acts passed by the British Parliament in 1767 in an attempt to assert its authority over the American colonies through strict provisions for the collection of revenue duties. The acts were named after Charles Townshend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who sponsored them. The four acts were:
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The Suspending Act: This prohibited the New York Assembly from conducting any further business until it complied with the financial requirements of the Quartering Act (1765) for the expenses of British troops stationed there.
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The Townshend duties or the Revenue Act: This imposed direct revenue duties aimed at putting money into the British treasury.
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The third act: This established strict and often arbitrary machinery of customs collection in the American colonies, including additional officers, searchers, spies, coast guard vessels, search warrants, writs of assistance, and a Board of Customs Commissioners at Boston, all to be financed out of customs revenues.
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The Indemnity Act: This was aimed at enabling the East India Company to compete with the tea that was smuggled by the Dutch. It lowered commercial duties on tea imported to England by the Company.
The Townshend Acts were designed to raise revenue and enforce the Crowns authority over the American colonies. They imposed indirect taxes on the colonies by levying duties on various imported goods, including tea. The acts also gave jurisdiction over smuggling and customs cases to British naval courts rather than Colonial district courts, which the colonists believed were not a fair venue for these cases. The Townshend Acts were repealed on the same day as the Boston Massacre, but the repeal led to a temporary truce until the passage of the Tea Act in 1773.
