The Boston Port Act of 1774
I. The Birth of Boston: A Mercantile Mainstay
II. Events leading up to the Boston Port Act
III. The Boston Port Act of 1774
IV. The aftermath: Reactions and implications
V. The able doctor: The Boston Port Act in cartoon
II. Events leading up to the Boston Port Act
III. The Boston Port Act of 1774
IV. The aftermath: Reactions and implications
V. The able doctor: The Boston Port Act in cartoon
I. The Birth of Boston: A Mercantile Mainstay
After previous attempts to colonize in what would later become the cities of Salem and Charleston failed, a group of English Puritans led by John Winthrop founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630. The heart of this Atlantic colony would later become the city of Boston. The colonists chose the strategic Shawmut Peninsula for settlement, which sported three forested hills (later Copps Hill, Fort Hill, and Beacon Hill) and an isthmus (Boston Neck) that connected back to the mainland (Roxbury). The hills offered protection through altitude, and the rambling, almost connected coastline resembled an island more than a standard peninsula, providing the perfect opportunity for a coastal community. In addition to the freshwater spring near Trimountain, which was what Salem and Charleston lacked, the peninsula’s connection to the Charles River proved worthy colonizing incentives. Indeed, Boston would reign supreme until the 1760s as the greatest colonial port.
Unlike many other coastal colonies such as Philadephia, Boston’s urban planning derived as a function of the coastline itself rather than as a pre-imagined grid. This allowed maximum access to the vital seaboard, which permitted free and rampant growth of merchant sites along the shoreline. Because of its favorable geographic conditions, corporate charter, and lack of a major competitor until the rise of Philadelphia and New York, Boston gradually assumed the role as the single major hub of imports and exports. Colonial merchants successfully developed trading networks with other colonies and European countries beyond the crown, creating an immediately successful maritime economy.
This demonstrated independence led to England’s implementing the first of a series of Navigation Acts in 1651. The Acts forced all shipments bound for America to first stop in England, where they would be processed and taxed before heading out in required English- or English colonial- built boats to the colonies or other countries. On the other end, the Acts also prevented the colonies from importing goods from outside of England, allowing English goods to be sold at wildly inflated prices. England’s actions gave it a great advantage over its close rival, the Netherlands, with whom they had been warring. However, the Acts also had a drastic effect on the colonies, curbing the rapidly growing commercial culture and inciting great frustration. No action, however, would undo the maritime foundation for what would become the greatest American port immediately after America’s gaining independence.
A scene from a naval battle during the Second Anglo-Dutch War, 1666. The pressing confrontation with their most formidable naval foe forced England to extort all sources of income. Paradoxically, this use of resources itself may have been what lost England its most valuable asset in the end: its American colonies.
Additionally, between 1686 and 1689, the Boston was briefly part of the greater province known as the Dominion of New England, having its charter revoked in the process. This larger conglomerate, managed by a single Anglican governor, helped further establish Boston as the major port, as the union obliterated the need for competition amongst port cities. The other Dominion cities simply became tributaries to the central port. In keeping with English tradition, however, the agglomerate primarily served as another tap into colonial pockets, and a laundry list of taxes were applied. Boston eventually rebelled, imprisoning the Dominion leaders, and the dominion collapsed.
Upon the Dominion’s collapse, Massachusetts lacked a legal basis for its existence due to its charter’s revocation. Between the Dominion’s collapse and 1691, the colony struggled for survival amidst its anarchy and the onset of King William’s War. In 1691, the crown once again united Massachusetts Bay with the surrounding area as the Province of Massachusetts Bay. The Province served right up until colonial revolt as a main colonial backbone in order to fund England’s several wars which ensued over the next several decades.
Upon the Dominion’s collapse, Massachusetts lacked a legal basis for its existence due to its charter’s revocation. Between the Dominion’s collapse and 1691, the colony struggled for survival amidst its anarchy and the onset of King William’s War. In 1691, the crown once again united Massachusetts Bay with the surrounding area as the Province of Massachusetts Bay. The Province served right up until colonial revolt as a main colonial backbone in order to fund England’s several wars which ensued over the next several decades.
II. Events Leading up to the Boston Port Act
When the French and Indian War ended (1763), the English found themselves greatly in debt from the all the wars of the previous century. During their occupation of the colonies, they also noticed that the colonies were prospering – especially merchants, sometimes more so than their English counterparts who sold the same goods. Since the colonies were under the English rule, protected by the British army, and initially formed as a source of income for England, the English decided that the time had come for the colonies to give back to the Empire.
Their solution was to tax the colonies – beginning with the Sugar and Stamp Acts of 1764 and 1765 – and enforce the collection of these taxes by placing English officials within the colonies responsible for collection. The colonies responded with outrage from all social classes. Since taxes had been placed on all commercial activities, merchants in particular were greatly affected. The colonies refused to import English goods, forcing the English to rescind the legislation only months later, accompanied by a new Act: the Declaratory Act of 1766, which asserted England’s right to make laws and tax the colonies in the future, should the Empire so desire.
Their solution was to tax the colonies – beginning with the Sugar and Stamp Acts of 1764 and 1765 – and enforce the collection of these taxes by placing English officials within the colonies responsible for collection. The colonies responded with outrage from all social classes. Since taxes had been placed on all commercial activities, merchants in particular were greatly affected. The colonies refused to import English goods, forcing the English to rescind the legislation only months later, accompanied by a new Act: the Declaratory Act of 1766, which asserted England’s right to make laws and tax the colonies in the future, should the Empire so desire.
England took advantage of their declared right to tax the colonies in 1767 by passing the Townshend Acts, which was a tax on all imported goods. This act was again met with outrage, though the reaction time was slower. Although the plebs supported the idea of stopping the import of goods altogether, the merchants’ livelihood was determined by the import of said goods. Many merchants abided by the tax for lack of a better option – others turned to smuggling – but the general feeling was indignation and resentment towards the English, especially after the American Board of Customs was established in Boston (chosen for its status as a major port) in 1767 to help enforce tax collection. Merchants in Boston began turning more and more to the idea of boycotting English goods, and Samuel Adams helped initiate the boycott by calling all of the colonies to act in unified resistance. In 1770, the Townshend Act was repealed, but to confirm their authority, the English kept a tax on tea.
The colonists were still angry and continued to boycott English Tea by smuggling Dutch Tea, so the English companies continued to lose revenue and develop a surplus of tea. In 1773, the Tea Act was passed, predominantly to rescue the East-India Company from this descent into bankruptcy. The Tea Act allowed the company to ship directly to colonies (instead of going through London), which cut out the middlemen and effectively lowered the final cost of the tea. The English thought the colonies would prefer the cheaper legal tea to the more expensive smuggled tea, thereby cementing Parliament’s right to tax the colonies. However, most colonists still opposed the act on principle and refused to validate taxation. Many colonies sent the tea back to England, but the governor of Boston insisted that the taxes be paid. This was directly followed by the Boston Tea Party, in December of 1773, where a group of over 100 colonists, dressed as Indians, boarded the ships at night and threw roughly 45 tons of tea – worth about £10,000 then, $1000000 today – overboard.
The following excerpt from the Boston Gazette on December 20, 1773, expresses the strong, unified sentiment in Boston that led to the Tea Party: "BEHOLD what followed! A number of brave & resolute men, determined to do all in their power to save their country from the ruin which their enemies had plotted, in less than four hours, emptied every chest of tea on board the three ships commanded by the captains Hall, Bruce, and Coffin, amounting to 342 chests, into the sea!! without the least damage done to the ships or any other property. The matters and owners are well pleas'd that their ships are thus clear'd; and the people are almost universally congratulating each other on this happy event."
The following excerpt from the Boston Gazette on December 20, 1773, expresses the strong, unified sentiment in Boston that led to the Tea Party: "BEHOLD what followed! A number of brave & resolute men, determined to do all in their power to save their country from the ruin which their enemies had plotted, in less than four hours, emptied every chest of tea on board the three ships commanded by the captains Hall, Bruce, and Coffin, amounting to 342 chests, into the sea!! without the least damage done to the ships or any other property. The matters and owners are well pleas'd that their ships are thus clear'd; and the people are almost universally congratulating each other on this happy event."
III. The Boston Port Act of 1774
Astonished and enraged, Parliament decided to punish the colonists and force them into compliance with what the English called the Coercive Acts of 1774, and the colonists referred to as the Intolerable Acts. One of these was the Boston Port Act, which shut down Boston’s harbor. It prohibited ships from docking in Boston (except for ships carrying certain necessities, such as fuel and supplies for the English military) – ships caught docking were to be confiscated, along with all of their cargo. Boston’s port was to remain closed until both the East-India Company and any officers who suffered as a result of the rebellions were compensated, and the King (George III) considered the reparation complete and peace to be restored. The full text of the Boston Port Act can be found here.
Three additional Intolerabele Acts were emplaced in response to the Boston Tea Party in order to make an example of Boston. These include the Massachusetts Government Act, which brought the Government of Massachusetts under English purview, the Administration of Justice Act, which allowed trials of royal officials to be moved outside of Massachusetts, and the Quartering Act which affected all of the colonies by allowing governors to house soldiers in unoccupied buildings. A fifth act, the Quebec Act, was not passed in response to Boston resistance but is generally grouped with the Intolerable Acts. Only the Boston Port Act had direct consequences for the maritime economy in Boston.
IV. The aftermath: Reactions and implications
The Boston Port Act of 1774 did much more than just anger the colonists of Boston, Massachusetts; it continued the movement of colonial unity in respect to their view of England, and colonial unification. The immediate consequences of the essential closing of the port of Boston were the economic implications that served as latent functions of the Act. Without any imports or exports of goods in the port, the commercial enterprises of merchants were deeply affected. This economic blow to the colonists caused a great uproar. This uproar was not just felt within the patriot, or anti-parliament camps, but within the pockets of the loyalists as well. Everyone living in the Massachusetts Bay area was severely economically affected by this act. Furthermore, the use of the port by the British military gave a sense of dominance and imposition that the colonists were not fond of. This, along with the rest of the coercive acts, led to the calling of the First Continental Congress on September 5th, 1774. This was the greatest step taken by the colonies towards the political unification of the colonies. The outcome of this congress was the Declaration of Rights and Grievances in 1774, which did more than just declare the rights and responsibilities of the colonies, but gave the colonies a single voice. Additionally, the assistance from other colonies, like South Carolina, for sources of necessary goods for Boston and Massachusetts furthered the image of a unified front within the colonies. When the city of Boston was cut off from its necessary resources, and its commercial economy was in shambles, the colonies came to their assistance. The complete unification of the colonies would not occur until the beginning of the war, but it is important to note that its roots lay in the response to the grievances of the Coercive Acts, including the Boston Port Act.
However, from a different perspective, the Boston Port Act of 1774 could be seen as parliament’s acknowledgement of the importance of ports to colonial life. The maritime implications of this Act are often overlooked, but serve a salient purpose in regards to the American Revolution. This Act served to both prove the British maritime superiority and control of the waters and ports in the colonies, while proving to the colonist how important the control of their ports were. This act also proved to be a foreshadowing of British naval tactics. They would attempt to use rivers and ports, like the Port of New York City, to base their operations and conduct their campaigns. In essence, they would try to exploit the colonial source of commerce and their naval inferiority. All of these faults and weaknesses were seen through the implementation of the Act.
V. The able doctor: The Boston Port Act in cartoon
Political Cartoon first published in London Magazine in 1774, entitled "The able Doctor, or America Swallowing the Bitter Draught." The cartoon depicts Lord North, Prime Minister, forcing tea down the throat of America, depicted as a partially draped Native American female. The Boston Port Bill sticks prominently out of Lord North's Pocket. America's arms are restrained by Lord Mansfield, the Lord Chief Justice, while her legs are restrained by Lord Sandwich, First Lord of the Admiralty, who looks up her skirt. The female figure shielding her eyes in disgust and embarrassment is Britannia. "Boston suspended" is pictured in the background by a fleet of ships. This cartoon was reprinted in many colonial newspapers and publications after its first appearance in London Magazine, both in Boston and throughout the colonies. Many renderings in Boston-based publications were temporarily suspended due to the lack of funds and supplies created by the Boston Port Act.