Answer the questions given under each caption

Townshend Act

a) Who introduced this Act?

b) In which year was this Act passed?

c) Why did the colonists oppose the Act?

d) Why did the merchants of Boston oppose British goods?

a) The Act was introduced by Charles Townshend, the British Finance Minister. It aimed at increasing import rates for glass, paper, tea and other luxuries for American colonies.

b) The Act was introduced in 1767, following the war between France and England, which had financially exhausted the English coffers.

c) The colonists oppose the Act because it was seen as unfair. They were made to pay for a war that they had not sanctioned. They had no representation in British Parliament, and hence they were being taxed without heeding to their voice.

d) The merchants faced obvious economic disadvantages from the Act. The port city of Boston thrived on trade, and increased import duties spiked the cost of products that they sold.