The Prohibitory Act was British legislation in late 1775 that cut off all trade between the

Thirteen Colonies The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies, the Thirteen American Colonies, or later as the United Colonies, were a group of British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Founded in the 17th and 18th centu ...

and England and removed the colonies from the King's protection. In essence, it was a declaration of economic warfare by Britain as punishment to the American colonies for the rebellion against the King and British rule that became known as the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. The Prohibitory Act references two acts passed by the last session of Parliament that were known as the

Restraining Acts 1775 The Restraining Acts of early 1775 were two Acts passed by the Parliament of Great Britain, which limited colonial trade in response to both increasing and spreading civil disobedience in Massachusetts and New England, and similar trade restriction ...

. It was referenced as one of the

27 colonial grievances 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion, mythology, s ...

of the

American Declaration of Independence The United States Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America, is the pronouncement and founding document adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at Pennsylvania State House ( ...

Background

In October 1775, the

Parliament of Great Britain The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in May 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The Acts ratified the treaty of Union which created a new unified Kingdo ...

, under

Lord North Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford (13 April 17325 August 1792), better known by his courtesy title Lord North, which he used from 1752 to 1790, was 12th Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1770 to 1782. He led Great Britain through most o ...

First Lord of the Treasury The first lord of the Treasury is the head of the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury exercising the ancient office of Lord High Treasurer in the United Kingdom, and is by convention also the prime minister. This office is not equivalent to the ...

, decided that sterner measures would be taken to subdue the rebellion now underway in the 13 North American colonies. To that end, they decreed a blockade against the trade of the 13 colonists by passing the Prohibitory Act. "All manner of trade and commerce" would be prohibited, and any ship that was found trading "shall be forfeited to his Majesty, as if the same were the ships and effects of open enemies." The goal was to destroy the American economy by prohibiting trade with any country. The Act, being a virtual declaration of war, furnished the colonists with an excuse for throwing off all allegiance to the king.

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...

regarded the Act as the straw that broke the camel's back.

Aftermath

The Prohibitory Act served as an effective declaration of war by Great Britain since a blockade is an act of war under the

law of nations International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...

. The colonies and

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

immediately reacted by issuing letters of marque, which authorised individual American shipowners to seize British ships in a practice known as privateering. Further, the Act moved the American colonists more towards the option of complete independence, as the King had now declared his "subjects" out of his protection and levied war against them without regards to distinction as to their ultimate loyalty or their petitions for the redress of grievances. At the same time, the British had imported bands of foreign

auxiliaries Auxiliaries are support personnel that assist the military or police but are organised differently from regular forces. Auxiliary may be military volunteers undertaking support functions or performing certain duties such as garrison troops, ...

, including the Hessians, into the American colonies to suppress the rebellion. The British had also stirred up hostile bands of Native Americans on the frontier by the King's men to raid the colonists. Concluding that they no longer had the King's protection, the colonists responded with the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of th ...

References

External links

American Prohibitory Act

Contemporary (1780) Text of the Act
{{UK legislation Great Britain Acts of Parliament 1775 1775 in the Thirteen Colonies Laws leading to the American Revolution Embargoes