Boston Port Bill

Great Britain [1774]

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

June 23, 2026

Quick Summary

The Boston Port Bill was enacted by the British Parliament in 1774 as part of the Intolerable Acts. This measure was a direct response to the Boston Tea Party of 1773, during which American patriots destroyed a significant quantity of tea in protest of British taxation policies. The Boston Port Bill specifically closed the port of Boston to all trade until the colonists compensated the East India Company for the destroyed tea. This action crippled Boston's economy and was seen as a severe overreach of parliamentary authority, further uniting the colonies against British rule and leading to the convening of the First Continental Congress.1234

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

4 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

American colonies
The Intolerable Acts
The result was the Boston Port Bill, which closed the harbor of that city after June 1, 1774, until it displayed proper respect for British authority. Toward bringing Massachusetts to heel, the ministry later pushed through the Massachusetts Government Act, which would have made Massachusetts a standard royal province…
Read More
The result was the Boston Port Bill, which closed the harbor of that city after June 1, 1774, until it displayed proper respect for British authority. Toward bringing Massachusetts to heel, the ministry later pushed through the Massachusetts Government Act, which would have made Massachusetts a standard royal province…
Read More

Intolerable Acts
…Tea Party (1773), passed the Boston Port Bill, closing that city’s harbour until restitution was made for the destroyed tea. Second, the Massachusetts Government Act abrogated the colony’s charter of 1691, reducing it to the level of a crown colony, replacing the elective local council with an appointive one, enhancing…
Read More
…Tea Party (1773), passed the Boston Port Bill, closing that city’s harbour until restitution was made for the destroyed tea. Second, the Massachusetts Government Act abrogated the colony’s charter of 1691, reducing it to the level of a crown colony, replacing the elective local council with an appointive one, enhancing…
Read More