Townshend Act
The Townshend Acts of 1767 were a series of four laws passed by the British Parliament in an attempt to raise revenue from its American colonies. The acts placed duties on various imported goods, including glass, lead, paints, paper, and tea. This was the first time that taxes had been imposed directly on colonists since the Stamp Act of 1765.
The acts also established a Board of Customs Commissioners in Boston to better enforce customs regulations, gave admiralty courts jurisdiction over violations, allowed for searches without warrants if it was suspected that contraband or smuggled goods were present, and dissolved colonial legislatures that refused to comply with the law. In addition, it extended powers granted under the earlier Navigation Acts so as to include search and seizure operations within 12 miles (19 km) of any part of Britain's North American possessions.
In response to these measures, protests erupted throughout America, leading to what would become known as the Boston Massacre in March 1770, in which five civilians were killed by British troops sent out into town at night after being provoked by angry crowds. This further incited anti-British sentiment among Americans, who began boycotting certain imports such as tea until all remaining taxes imposed through this act were repealed two years later, in 1769, with only one duty still standing: that on tea exported from Great Britain or her colonies into America.