Townshend Tax Proposals in Parliament
- When
- 1767–1768
- Where
- Parliament of Great Britain
- Episodes
- 4
In early 1767 Chancellor of the Exchequer Charles Townshend proposed that Parliament raise American revenue through external import taxes rather than internal ones, following the Stamp Act's repeal. The resulting Townshend Acts were enacted in 1767 and 1768, with the Revenue Act and Commissioners of Customs Act passing on 29 June 1767 and further acts following in July and March 1768.
Episodes
- Townshend's Revenue Proposal
Early in 1767 Townshend proposed that Parliament procure American revenue through external import taxes rather than internal taxes, avoiding colonial offense.
- Revenue Act 1767
The first of the Townshend Acts, the Revenue Act 1767, received royal assent on 29 June 1767 as the Chatham ministry's new revenue approach.
- Customs Commissioners and July 1767 Acts
The Commissioners of Customs Act passed 29 June 1767; the Indemnity Act and New York Restraining Act passed 2 July 1767.
- Vice Admiralty Court Act 1768
The Vice Admiralty Court Act, the last of the five acts, passed on 8 March 1768, after Townshend's death, creating four district courts.
Background and detail
Background. The Stamp Act 1765 had provided the first form of direct taxation placed upon the colonies, and its repeal in 1766 prompted Parliament to pass the Declaratory Act, proclaiming that Parliament could legislate for the colonies "in all cases whatsoever". Early in 1767, shortly after the repeal, Townshend proposed procuring revenue from the Americans via external import taxes instead of internal taxes.
Legislative Passage. The Townshend Acts were a series of British acts of Parliament enacted in 1767 and 1768 introducing taxes and regulations to enable administration of the British colonies in America. The Revenue Act 1767 received royal assent on 29 June 1767, the same day as the Commissioners of Customs Act. The Indemnity Act and New York Restraining Act passed on 2 July 1767, and the Vice Admiralty Court Act passed on 8 March 1768.
Townshend's Death. Lord Charles Townshend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer after whom the acts were named, died suddenly on 4 September 1767. He therefore did not live to see the colonial reaction to the measures, and did not introduce the Vice Admiralty Court Act, which was passed the year after the other four.
People involved
- Charles Townshend · Chancellor of the Exchequer who proposed the revenue scheme
Sources
- Charles Townshend Wikipedia, revision of 2026-07-25
- Townshend Acts Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-23
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.