Townshend Acts:
Why did the British take this into action?
please help if you can!
Read the first paragraph.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Townshend_Acts
Thank you this help a lot!
You're welcome.
oh one more question did American colonists not like this action because it made the British more independent of the colonial legislatures and better able to enforce British orders and laws?
All of that. By this time the colonists were tired of being treated like second class citizens. They were incensed that the British could impose taxes on them while the colonists had voice in these taxes. They were more than ready for independence.
Ah ok! Thank you so much your a life saver!
You're very welcome.
:-)
*Had NO voice in these taxes.
The Townshend Acts were a series of British laws passed in 1767 that imposed new taxes on goods imported into the American colonies, including lead, glass, paint, paper, and tea. Here's an explanation of why the British took these acts into action:
1. Revenue Generation: The British government was facing financial difficulties following the French and Indian War (1754-1763), which had left a significant debt. To raise revenue, the British Parliament believed that the American colonies should contribute more to the costs of their own defense and administration.
2. Enforcement of Colonial Control: The British government also wanted to assert its authority over the American colonies and increase its control over trade in the region. By imposing taxes on imported goods, the British aimed to regulate colonial commerce and ensure the colonies' economic reliance on the British Empire.
3. Punitive Measures: The British saw the Townshend Acts as a way to punish the American colonies for their resistance to the earlier Stamp Act (1765), which had been repealed due to widespread protests and boycotts. The Acts were also meant to remind the colonies of British authority and discourage further disobedience.
4. Revenue Officials' Salaries: Another key factor was the determination to pay governors and other colonial officials directly from the revenue generated by the Townshend Acts. This move aimed to make these officials independent of colonial assemblies' control, and thus more loyal to the Crown.
It is important to note that the imposition of the Townshend Acts further fueled colonial resentment against British taxation without adequate representation, contributing to the growing tensions that eventually led to the American Revolution.