Intolerable Acts, popular name given by Americans to four laws passed by the British Parliament in 1774 in response to the Boston Tea Party. The Intolerable Acts, also called Coercive Acts, were intended to punish the colony of Massachusetts for destroying tea that belonged to the East India Company and to show the other American colonies what might happen if they disobeyed British policies. Resentment of these acts contributed to the outbreak of the American Revolution in 1775.

The people of Massachusetts had already defied various British policies they considered repressive. For example, they had resisted the Stamp Act in 1765, and in March 1770 they had openly shown their resentment of the quartering of British troops in Boston. In December 1773 they showed their opposition to the Tea Act by dumping tea loaded on British ships into Boston Harbor rather than pay duty on it. After this so-called Boston Tea Party, Parliament enacted four measures soon known as the Intolerable Acts as an example to the other rebellious colonies.

First, the Boston Port Act closed the port of Boston to all trade until the destroyed tea was paid for. Second, the Massachusetts Government Act revoked the colony’s charter and forbade town meetings, except by written consent of the colony’s British governor. The upper house of the Massachusetts legislature had until then been elected each year by the lower house. Under the Massachusetts Government Act, the British government would appoint members of the upper house. Third, the Quartering Act required the colonists to provide quarters for British soldiers. Fourth, the Impartial Administration of Justice Act removed British officials from the jurisdiction of Massachusetts courts. These officials were responsible for carrying out British laws and suppressing riots. If any charges were brought against them, they could be removed from Massachusetts for trial.

Parliament also enacted the Québec Act at this time, and many colonists considered it one of the Intolerable Acts because it expanded the territory of Québec and did not allow for representative government in that colony. However, it restored French law and full freedom to practice the Roman Catholic religion to French-speaking residents of the British colony of Québec and was thus one of the more liberal measures passed by the British Parliament in this period.

Considering these acts “intolerable,” the other American colonies united in sympathy with Massachusetts. Virginia set aside a day of prayer and fasting and later proposed that the colonies meet to formulate joint action against the objectionable features of British rule. This proposal led to the calling of the First Continental Congress in September 1774.