After the Seven Years' War, the British government began creating a series of laws and taxes on the American colonies to gain greater control over their colonies. These acts included The Sugar Act of 1764, the Stamp Act of 1765, the Declaratory Act of 1766, the Townshend Act of 1767, the Coercive Acts of 1774, and the Quebec Act of 1774. In this essay, I will be discussing the Townshend Act. I will be explaining what it is, how it affected the colonists and how it (along with the other acts) led to a Revolution. The Townshend Act was a law passed by Britain in 1767. This Act put a tax on things such as paint, tea, glass and other items imported into the American colonies by Britain. These things were essential to the American colonists, and they didn’t like that they had to pay extra money for them and …show more content…
Many colonists started to boycott these items and tried to obtain them another way, such as making them themselves. The slogan, “No taxation without representation” was created to be a protest against British tax policies. The Townshend Act increased the cost of living for the American colonists, and since the price of the items being imported were higher, they would also have to raise the prices of the items they sold to get their money back. Businesses shut down because they didn’t have enough money to buy things, to sell things in their shop because of the high prices. There were also increased tensions between the colonists and the British government. British customs officials and soldiers were sent to enforce the laws and collect taxes, leading to conflicts and confrontations. These officials were not gentle with the colonists, rather very harsh, and people were killed. The colonists highlighted the idea of their slogan “no taxation without representation”, as it was unfair that they were being taxed and didn’t have a