How Many Intolerable Acts Were There?

A total of 5 acts were included in the group of Coercive Acts or Intolerable Acts of 1774.

The British Parliament passed all these five laws to punish American Colonists and Patriots for the incident of the Boston Tea Party.

Of course, you know that the Boston Tea Party was the incident, which led the British East India Company into heavy economic losses.

Let me tell you another thing here…

Many people think only 4 laws are included in the group of Intolerable Acts. But this is not true. 

They think this way because they don’t add here the Quartering Act of 1774. 1774’s Quartering Act was the 2nd version of 1765’s Quartering Act.

Here is the list of all five Intolerable Acts of 1774:

• Boston Port Act (March 31, 1774)
• Massachusetts Government Act (20 May 1774)
• Administration of Justice Act (20 May 1774)
• Quartering Act (1774)
• Quebec Act (22 June 1774).

I hope you have got your answer.

But Why Are These Laws Important In American History?

Actually, these 5 laws were the main turning point, which broke out all the boundaries of patients of American colonists and provoked them to choose the path of rebellion against the British Empire.

Finally, the rebellion brought independence for the 13 colonies and formed a new country, the United States of America.

The Five Intolerable Acts And Their Actions On The Colonies

1. Boston Port Act: This was the first Intolerable Act, passed on 31st March 1774 and came into effect from June 1st, 1774.

Under this act, the parliament of Great Britain decided to close all the trade through the port of Boston.

Their decision was, the port would remain close until colonists pay all the reparations for the Boston Tea Party.

Even the act was so punitive that it demanded colonists to apologize to King George III for the guilt.

2. Massachusetts Government Act: The Massachusetts Government Act abrogated the Massachusetts Charter of 1691, under which the people of the province enjoyed a special facility to participate in its governance system.

Under this act, parliament decided to appoint a British military official as the Governor of the province.

This act’s main motive was to contain the growing unrest within the segment of Massachusetts.

The act got royal approval on 20th May 1774.

3. Administration of Justice Act: This was the most devilish act among the five Intolerable Acts.

But why?

Because this one encouraged royally appointed officials in the colonies to commit crimes against the colonists and run away to any other part of the British Empire.

This act got royal approval on 20th May 1774. Revolutionary leaders like George Washington called it the Murder Act.

4. Quartering Act: This one was the second version of 1765’s Quartering Act.

The law encouraged British troops to forcefully occupy colonists’ private homes.

5. Quebec Act: This was passed on 22nd June 1774.

Quebec Act mainly targeted to increase religious distances between Christian Catholics and Protestants.

Under this law, Catholics enjoyed some special privileges.

Also, this act intended to increase Canada’s Quebec Province’s land area towards the 13 colonies’ midwest direction.

This was unacceptable for the colonists and that’s why they also called it one of the Intolerable Acts.