The Boston Port Act, also called the Trade Act 1774 ( 14 Geo. 3. c. 19), was an act of the

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

which became law on March 31, 1774, and took effect on June 1, 1774. It was one of five measures (variously called the ''

Intolerable Acts The Intolerable Acts, sometimes referred to as the Insufferable Acts or Coercive Acts, were a series of five punitive laws passed by the British Parliament in 1774 after the Boston Tea Party. The laws aimed to punish Massachusetts colonists fo ...

'', the ''Punitive Acts'' or the ''Coercive Acts'') that were enacted during the spring of 1774 to punish Boston for the December 16, 1773,

Boston Tea Party The Boston Tea Party was a seminal American protest, political and Mercantilism, mercantile protest on December 16, 1773, during the American Revolution. Initiated by Sons of Liberty activists in Boston in Province of Massachusetts Bay, colo ...

Background

The Bostonians in Distress mezzotint 1774

The act was a response to the

. King

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

's speech of March 7, 1774 charged the colonists with attempting to injure British commerce and subvert the constitution. On March 18, Lord North brought in the Port Bill, which outlawed the use of the

Port of Boston The Port of Boston (Automated Manifest System, AMS Seaport Code: 0401, UN/LOCODE: US BOS) is a major seaport located in Boston Harbor and adjacent to the Boston, Massachusetts, City of Boston. It is the largest port in Massachusetts and one of th ...

(by setting up a barricade/blockade) for "landing and discharging, loading or shipping, of goods, wares, and merchandise" until restitution was made to the King's treasury (for

customs Customs is an authority or Government agency, agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling International trade, the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out ...

duty A duty (from "due" meaning "that which is owing"; , past participle of ; , whence "debt") is a commitment or expectation to perform some action in general or if certain circumstances arise. A duty may arise from a system of ethics or morality, e ...

lost) and to the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

for damages suffered. In other words, it closed Boston Port to all ships, no matter what business the ship had. It also provided that Massachusetts Colony's seat of government should be moved to Salem and Marblehead made a port of entry. The Act was to take effect on June 1.

Passage

Even some of the strongest allies of America in Parliament at first approved the act as moderate and reasonable, and argued that the city could end the punishment at any time by paying for the merchandise destroyed in the riot and allowing law and order to have their course. However, the Whig opposition in Parliament soon fought the bill in its various stages led by

Edmund Burke Edmund Burke (; 12 January ew Style, NS1729 – 9 July 1797) was an Anglo-Irish Politician, statesman, journalist, writer, literary critic, philosopher, and parliamentary orator who is regarded as the founder of the Social philosophy, soc ...

, Isaac Barré, Thomas Pownall and others. Despite their opposition, the act became a law on March 31, without a division in the

Commons The commons is the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, including natural materials such as air, water, and a habitable Earth. These resources are held in common even when owned privately or publicly. Commons ...

and by a unanimous vote in the Lords.

Aftermath

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

warships subsequently began patrols at the mouth of Boston Harbor to enforce the acts. The

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

also joined in enforcing the blockade, and

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

was filled with troops led by Commander-in-Chief Thomas Gage. Colonists protested that the Port Act penalized thousands of residents and violated their rights as subjects of George III. As the Port of Boston was a major source of supplies for the citizens of Massachusetts, sympathetic colonies as far away as

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

sent relief supplies to the settlers of Massachusetts Bay. So great was the response that the Boston leaders boasted that the town would become the chief grain port of America if the act was not repealed. June 1 was widely observed as a day of fasting and prayer, bells being tolled, flags placed at half-mast, and houses draped in mourning. That was the first step in the unification of the

Thirteen Colonies The Thirteen Colonies were the British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America which broke away from the British Crown in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), and joined to form the United States of America. The Thirteen C ...

since they now had a cause for which to work together. The

First Continental Congress The First Continental Congress was a meeting of delegates of twelve of the Thirteen Colonies held from September 5 to October 26, 1774, at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia at the beginning of the American Revolution. The meeting was organized b ...

was convened in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

on September 5, 1774 to co-ordinate a colonial response to the act and the other

Coercive Acts The Intolerable Acts, sometimes referred to as the Insufferable Acts or Coercive Acts, were a series of five punitive laws passed by the British Parliament in 1774 after the Boston Tea Party. The laws aimed to punish Massachusetts colonists fo ...

.Ciment (2016), p. 684. The whole act was repealed from 1 January 1776 by section 42 of the Prohibitory Act 1776 ( 16 Geo. 3 c. 5).

Notes

References

External links

* Full text of the Boston Port Act *
Observations on the act of Parliament commonly called the Boston port-bill : with thoughts on civil society and standing armies
' Boston, N.E.; London: Re-printed for Edward and Charles Dilly {{Authority control Great Britain Acts of Parliament 1774 Repealed Great Britain Acts of Parliament 1774 in the Province of Massachusetts Bay 18th century in Boston Laws leading to the American Revolution Collective punishment Frederick North, Lord North