Intolerable Acts

Intolerable Acts, or Coercive Acts, name given by patriots in the American colonies to 5 acts of the British Parliament passed in 1774 to control political and other activities of the colonists. Four of the acts were intended to penalize dissidents in Massachusetts. The Boston Port Act closed the harbor in default of compensation for the Boston Tea Party. The Massachusetts Bay Regulating Act suspended many of the colony's original rights. The Impartial Administration of Justice Act ordained that British officials accused of crimes within the colonies should be tried in other colonies or in England. The Quartering Act required colonists to shelter and feed British troops. The Quebec Act extended Quebec's boundary south to the Ohio River. These strong measures were widely protested throughout the colonies and led to the calling of the First Continental Congress and hence the Revolutionary War.

See also: Revolutionary War in America.