Page 133 - JM Book 9/2020

1774
March 31-June 2
British Action: Parliament enacted a series of Coercive Acts (nicknamed the Intolerable Acts by the Americans). The Boston Port Bill (enacted March 31) shut down all commercial shipping into Boston until Massachusetts’s merchants agreed to pay the taxes owed on the tea dumped during the Boston Tea Party, and to reimburse the East India Company for the loss of the tea. The Massachusetts Government Act (enacted May 20) ended self-rule in Massachusetts by putting all political power over the colonists under the control of King George III. The Administration of Justice Act (enacted May 20) empowered the Governor of Massachusetts to move trials to another colony or to Britain if he thought Massachusetts juries would not be impartial. The Quartering Act of 1765 was replaced by the Quartering Act of 1774 (enacted June 2) that applied to all the colonies. In addition to empty houses, inns, barns and private houses as provided under the original act, the new Quartering Act directed the royal governors to use other private buildings, if required, to house British soldiers.
June 16
British Action: Parliament passed the Quebec Act that established a centralized government in Canada controlled by the British Crown and Parliament. This act extended the southern boundary of Canada into territories claimed by Massachusetts, Connecticut and Virginia.
September
British Action: General Thomas Gage, military governor of Massachusetts, seized the colony’s arsenal of weapons at Charlestown.
September 17
American Action: The First Continental Congress declared its opposition to the Coercive Acts, saying they are “not to be obeyed.” Congress also promoted the formation of local militia units throughout the colonies. A Declaration and Resolves was adopted that opposed the Coercive Acts, the Quebec Act, and other measures that undermined American self-government.
October 20
American Action: Congress adopted the Continental Association that placed a boycott on the importation of British goods and slaves, and prohibited the export of American products to Great Britain.
1775
March 30
British Action: Parliament adopted the New England Restraining Act that required New England colonies to trade exclusively with Great Britain and banned fishing in the North Atlantic.
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