Townshend Acts

Historical Context Note

Litencyc Editors (Independent Scholar - Europe)
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Four Acts, sponsored by Lord Charles Townshend, and passed by the British parliament to raise customs revenues from the north American colonists to pay for the costs of British military defence and British administration. Duties were imposed on lead, glass, paint, paper and tea. British colonies had until this time raised local taxes for the support of their local assemblies, so the Townshend Acts were seen as part of an attempt by the British crown to make the colonists pay for an administration which would be administered according to London interests. The Acts also insured that colonial officials, including governors and judges, would receive their salaries directly from the Crown. Finally, a new army of custom officials was created to enforce these new taxes. The Townshend Acts were…

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Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "Townshend Acts". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 01 February 2010 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=4188, accessed 19 March 2024.]

4188 Townshend Acts 2 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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