Townshend+Acts

=Townshend Acts of 1767=

toc The Townshend Acts of 1767 were basically a continuation of the Stamp Act, but with a twist. The Stamp Act was a direct taxation on English imports to the colonies while the Townshend Acts were indirect taxes that were meant to go unnoticed. Charles Townshend, once he had become the finance minister, decided to raise the price on certain materials without letting the colonists know about it. This did work for a little while, but eventually the colonists noticed and became angry.

Charles Townshend
Charles Townshend was a man who by some was recognized as crazy and by others recognized by being quite charming and having a lot of wit. William Pitt was the finance minister before Townshend. Pitt was well known among the colonists and went against the taxes that Britain had brought upon the colonies. One day Pitt got sick however and Townshend took over his position and started to tax the colonies indirectly. Eventually the colonists boycotted all the goods and realized what was going on. The same year these events took place, Charles Townshend died.

What was it
When the Townshend Acts were in action, many items had a larger price. Certain items such as paint, lead, glass, paper, and tea had much larger prices. Townshend was able to convince Parliament to pass a law on taxes and to create special taxes for those items. Along with these taxes, the New York Legislature was suspended from working until they had agreed with them to quarter British soldiers. Also, colonial officers such as judges, and governors were paid their earn directly from Britain.

Intentions
Townshend did not like the colonists and thought they were unsophisticated. Once he had claimed the position of finance minister, he wanted to increase Britain's power and help their need for money. If he had strengthened Parliament's power he would have all together strengthened the power of Britain's officials. The British army needed a way to earn money to maintain themselves and this was a good way to do so if it went unnoticed. If he could figure out a way to make money off of the colonists that he would be able to earn this money and pay the army.

Aftershocks
When the colonists had figured out about what Townshend was doing, they sent around what was called the Circular Letter, to make sure that all of the colonists knew about it. They boycotted items and tried to keep the British out of your home. Soldiers were sent into the colonies to enforce the laws, but local colonists started to get angrier and angrier. Tension was rising between the colonies and Britain. It seemed as though a major event was about to occur.

Later Events
The first major event that happened after the Townshend Acts was the Boston Massacre. Colonists started throwing objects at nearby soldiers causing them to fire on the colonists. Soon after that a group of people dressed up as Indians and dumped all the tea into the harbor. More and more events led up and the two countries began to split apart more and more. Finally at one point, the two were so angry that the first shots of the war were fired. The Revolution had begun.