| Act of Parliament | |
.svg) | |
| Long title | An Act to discontinue in such Manner, and for such Time as are therein mentioned, the landing and discharging, landing or shipping, of Goods, Wares, and Merchandise, at the Town and within the Harbour of Boston, in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, in North America. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 14 Geo. 3. c. 19 |
| Territorial extent | Province of Massachusetts Bay |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | March 31, 1774 |
| Commencement | June 1, 1774[a] |
| Repealed | January, 1 1776 |
| Other legislation | |
| Repealed by | Prohibitory Act 1776 |
| Relates to | |
Status: Repealed | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
TheBoston Port Act, also called theTrade Act 1774 (14 Geo. 3. c. 19),[1] was anact of theParliament of Great Britain which became law on March 31, 1774, and took effect on June 1, 1774.[2] It was one of five measures (variously called theIntolerable Acts, thePunitive Acts or theCoercive Acts) that were enacted during the spring of 1774 to punish Boston for the December 16, 1773,Boston Tea Party.[3]
The act was a response to the Boston Tea Party. KingGeorge III'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 thePort of Boston (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 (forcustomsduty lost) and to theEast India Company for damages suffered. In other words, it closed Boston Port to all ships, no matter what business the ship had. It also provided thatMassachusetts Colony's seat of government should be moved toSalem andMarblehead made a port of entry. The Act was to take effect on June 1.[4]
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, theWhig opposition in Parliament soon fought the bill in its various stages led byEdmund Burke,Isaac Barré,Thomas Pownall and others. Despite their opposition, the act became a law on March 31, withouta division in theCommons and by a unanimous vote in theLords.[4]
Royal Navy warships subsequently began patrols at the mouth of Boston Harbor to enforce the acts. TheBritish Army also joined in enforcing the blockade, andBoston was filled with troops led by Commander-in-ChiefThomas Gage.[4] Colonists protested that the Port Act penalized thousands of residents and violated their rights as subjects of George III.[2]
As the Port of Boston was a major source of supplies for the citizens of Massachusetts, sympathetic colonies as far away asSouth Carolina 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 chiefgrain port of America if the act was not repealed.[4]
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.[5] That was the first step in the unification of theThirteen Colonies since they now had a cause for which to work together.
TheFirst Continental Congress was convened inPhiladelphia on September 5, 1774 to co-ordinate a colonial response to the act and the otherCoercive Acts.[6]
The whole act was repealed from 1 January 1776 by section 42 of theProhibitory Act 1776 (16 Geo. 3 c. 5).
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| Grenville ministry (1763–1765) |
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| Rockingham ministry (1765–1766) |
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| Chatham andGrafton ministries (1766–1770) |
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| North ministry (1770–1782) |
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