Who is townshend

Massachusetts sent a petition to King George requesting a repeal of the Revenue Act. The Massachusetts Circular Letter encouraged other Colonies to do the same. In response to the petitions, the newly appointed Colonial Secretary Lord Hillsborough ordered that Colonial assemblies be dissolved. Economic boycotts ensued to put pressure on the government. The recently created American Customs Board was seated in Boston. As tensions grew, the board asked for naval and military assistance, which arrived in Customs officials seized the sloop Liberty , owned by John Hancock, on charges of smuggling.

This action as well as the impressments of local sailors into the British Navy led to a riot. The subsequent arrival and quartering of additional troops in the city was one of the factors that led to the Boston Massacre in Although portions of the Townshend Acts were repealed, the tax on tea and special indemnity awarded to the British East India Company was retained.

The Tea Act enabled the company to import tea directly into the Colonies, which furthered harmed Colonial shipping companies. This legislation set the stage for the Boston Tea Party, a pivotal moment on the path toward American independence. Though there was a general outcry throughout the colonies to the Boston Massacre, the British government allowed the soldiers to be tried in Massachusetts.

John Adams, a well-respected attorney, was considered more moderate in his political views than Samuel Adams. John Adams argued that the British soldiers were not guilty of a criminal offense as they were only protecting themselves from an angry mob. Six of the eight British soldiers on trial were acquitted while the remaining two were convicted of manslaughter. Many on both sides of the Atlantic felt the soldiers received a fair trial.

Another conflict between the Royal Navy and the colonists rekindled the activities of the Committees of Correspondence. The colonists—who arguably enjoyed a higher standard of living at the time than their British counterparts—paid less than one-twentieth the taxes of British citizens living in England.

The British government thought the colonists should help pay the cost of their protection. The British Parliament enacted a series of taxes on the colonies for the purpose of raising revenue. Early attempts, such as the Stamp Act of —which taxed colonists for every piece of paper they used—were met with widespread protests in America.

The Townshend Acts, named after Charles Townshend, British chancellor of the Exchequer, imposed duties on British china, glass, lead, paint, paper and tea imported to the colonies.

Benjamin Franklin had informed the British Parliament that the colonies intended to start manufacturing their own goods rather than paying duties on imports. These particular items were chosen for taxation because Townshend thought they would be difficult things for the colonists to produce on their own. He estimated the duties would raise approximately 40, pounds, with most of the revenue coming from tea.

While the original intent of the import duties had been to raise revenue, Charles Townshend saw the policies as a way to remodel colonial governments.

However, these policies prompted colonists to take action by boycotting British goods. He died suddenly in September , before the detrimental effects of his signature rules could materialize. The Townshend duties went into effect on November 20, , close on the heels of the Declaratory Act of , which stated that British Parliament had the same authority to tax the American colonies as they did in Great Britain.

By December, two widely circulated documents had united colonists in favor of a boycott of British goods. With the exception of necessities, such as fishing hooks and wire, New England merchants agreed not to import British goods for one year. New York followed suit in April, with an even more restrictive non-importation agreement. These British legislators hope to avoid a repeat of the furious reaction across the Atlantic as they ponder how to generate revenue from the colonies and remind those colonies of Parliament's right to tax—and control—them.

A year after the repeal of the Stamp Act and less than two months before Parliament passes the new Townshend Revenue Acts, a sense of what is to come is conveyed by Member of Parliament Thomas Whately as he hints to his correspondent who will become a new customs commissioner that "you will have much to do.

On 29 June Parliament passes the Townshend Acts. They bear the name of Charles Townshend, Chancellor of the Exchequer, who is—as the chief treasurer of the British Empire—in charge of economic and financial matters.

With the repeal of the Stamp Act, money is needed for "defraying the expenses" of administering the colonies in America. Bostonians meet in Faneuil Hall the next October to consider a petition brought by fellow townsmen. It addresses a key issue raised by the Act— "the excessive use of foreign superfluities" —and the extent to which this has increased the colonists' reliance on and subjugation to Britain.