What Was The Social Impact of The Boston Port Act?
The Boston Port Act had some major social impacts on the 13 colonies of North America. Especially the impacts were so strong in Massachusetts province.
Two of them are:
1. First Impact: The retaliatory act drew the common people of Boston emotionally closer to each other. Not only that but when the relief supplies from South Carolina came to the people of Massachusetts Bay, they emotionally got more unified. It boosted inter-colonial unification among the Americans.
2. Second Impact: Secondly, on June 1st, colonists of all 13 colonies observed a day of mourning, without food (fasting) for showing emotional support to the people of Boston, Massachusetts.
Through this support, it became much clear that the people of all 13 colonies became united from both sides (politically and socially) more than ever before.
But What Was The Boston Port Act?
The Boston Port Act was an act by the Parliament of Great Britain, intended to close the Boston Harbor of Massachusetts Bay to prevent all the trades that happened through it.
The British Parliament passed it on 31st March 1774 to punish the people of Boston, Massachusetts province for the happening of the Boston Tea Party.
Actually, in 1773, the English Parliament passed an act, called the ‘Tea Act’ for dominating the 13 colonies’ entire tea market.
But this act was completely against the interests of American colonists; especially it affected colonies’ local merchants and shippers.
Therefore, showing resistance to the bad law, some patriots from the Sons of Liberty organization executed the Boston Tea Party incident on 16th December 1773.
In the next year (1774), for punishing colonists for the event, the English authority passed 5 punitive laws. Colonists named them “Intolerable Acts”. The Boston Port Act was one of them.
Did You Know?
Through the Boston Port Act, the British authority demanded colonists to pay all the compensation for the loss during the tea party.
Even to humiliate Bostonians, they demanded them to apologize to British King George III.
However, colonists denied the demand saying that not all the Bostonians were involved in the incident.
