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The first of Parliaments law stated that 

colonists could not settle west of the 

Appalachians. The reason for this was 

because Britain wanted this land to 

remain in the hands of their Native 

American allies to prevent another 

revolt. The proclamation angered many 

colonists, so as a result many ignored 

the law. 

 King George the third wanted to enforce 

the proclamation and keep peace with 

British Indian allies. To do this he decided to 

keep 10,000 soldiers in the colonies, so in 

1765 Parliament passed the Quartering Act. 

This was a cost-saving measure that required 

colonies to quarter, or house British soldiers 

and provide them with supplies. 

This law required that all legal and commercial 

documents carry an official stamp showing 

that a tax had been paid. All diplomas, 

contacts, wills, and published materials such 

as newspapers had to be written on special 

stamped paper. The stamp act was a new 

kind of tax which applied directly on all the 

colonists, colonial leaders vigorously 

protested. For them they were being taxed 

without their consent by Parliament in which 

they had no voice.

 The first of the Townshend Acts suspended New 

York's assembly until New Yorkers agreed to 

provide housing for the troops. Other acts placed 

import taxes on various goods brought into the 

colonies, such as paper, glass, paint, lead and tea. 

The money raised would be used to pay the 

salaries of British governors and other officials in 

the colonies. To enforce the acts British officers 

would use search warrants to enter homes to 

search for smuggled goods. The colonists felt these 

acts were a serious threat to their rights and 

freedom.

 On March 5,1770 tensions exploded 

between the soldiers and the colonists. 

A group of youths and dock workers 

started trading insults in front of the 

custom house. A fight broke out and 

the soldiers began firing. Attuck and 

four laborers were killed. The shooting 

was called the Boston massacre by the 

Sons of Liberty.

 Tea was very popular in the colonies. Most of 

the teas were smuggled from Holland, the Tea 

Act gave the British East Indian Company 

control over the American tea trade. Tea would 

only arrive in the trading companies ships and 

be sold there by its merchants, this enraged 

colonial shippers and merchants.

 On the evening of December 16,1773 a group 

of men disguised as Native Americans, boarded 

three tea ships docked in Boston Harbor. That 

night the group of men destroyed 342 chests of 

tea, many colonists rejoiced at the news. They 

believed that Britain would see how strongly 

colonists opposed taxation without 

representation. But, Britain wanted repayment 

for the tea, as well as the men who destroyed 

the tea to be put on trial.

 In 1774 Parliament passed a series of laws to 

punish the Massachusetts Colony and to serve as a 

warning to other colonies. The British called these 

acts coercive acts, but they were so harsh that the 

colonists called them the Intolerable Acts. One of 

these acts would close the port of Boston until 

colonists paid for the destroyed tea, others banned 

committees of correspondence, allowing Britain to 

house troops wherever necessary. Also British 

officials accused of crimes in the colonies also had 

to stand trial in Britain. To enforce the acts 

Parliament appointed General Thomas Gage 

governor of Massachusetts.

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