The Prohibitory Act 1775 (16 Geo. 3. c. 5) was an Act of Parliament passed by the Parliament of Great Britain in late 1775 which cut off all British trade with the rebellious Thirteen Colonies and instituted a blockade around the colonies, along with authorising British vessels to seize colonial ships.[1] In the text of the act, it referenced two acts passed by the last session of Parliament which were known as the Restraining Acts 1775. Issued after the outbreak of the American War of Independence in April 1775 with the Battles of Lexington and Concord, American Patriots responded to the act by issuing letters of marque to privateers, and it was referenced as one of the 27 colonial grievances of the United States Declaration of Independence.
| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Long title | An act to prohibit all trade and inter-courses with the colonies of New Hampshire, Massachuset's Bay, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, the three lower counties on Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, during the continuance of the present rebellion within the said colonies respectively; for repealing an act, made in the fourteenth year of the reign of his present Majesty, to discontinue the landing and discharging, lading or shipping, of goods, wares, and merchandise, at the town and within the harbor of Boston, in the province of Massachuset's Bay; and also two acts, made in the last session of parliament, for restraining the trade and commerce of the colonies in the said acts respectively mentioned; and to enable any person or persons, appointed and authorised by his Majesty to grant pardons, to issue proclamations, in the cases, and for the purposes therein mentioned. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 16 Geo. 3 c. 5 |
| Territorial extent | British America and the British West Indies |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 22 December 1775 |
| Commencement | 26 October 1775[a] |
| Repealed | 6 August 1861 |
| Other legislation | |
| Amends | |
| Repeals/revokes | Trade Act 1774 |
| Repealed by | Statute Law Revision Act 1861 |
| Relates to | |
Status: Repealed | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
Act
editIn October 1775, the Parliament of Great Britain, under the North ministry, decided that sterner measures would be taken to subdue the rebellion now underway in the Thirteen Colonies. To that end, they decreed a blockade against the colonies' trade by passing the Prohibitory Act. "All manner of trade and commerce" would be prohibited, and any ship that was found trading "shall be forfeited to his Majesty, as if the same were the ships and effects of open enemies." The act's goal was to weaken the colonial economy by cutting of its trade. Amounting to a virtual declaration of war, John Adams regarded the act as the straw that broke the camel's back.[2]
The act served as an effective declaration of war on the colonies since a blockade is an act of war under the law of nations. The colonies and Congress immediately reacted by issuing letters of marque, which authorised individual American shipowners to seize British ships in a practice known as privateering.[citation needed]
At the same time, the British had hired German auxiliary troops known as Hessians, which were being sent to the colonies to suppress the rebellion, and also made overtures to various Indian tribes requesting their support in the conflict. Concluding that they no longer had the king's protection, Patriot colonists responded with the Declaration of Independence.[3]
It throws thirteen colonies out of the royal protection, levels all distinctions, and makes us independent in spite of our supplications and entreaties.... It may be fortunate that the act of independency should come from the British Parliament rather than the American Congress.[4]
The whole act was repealed by section 1 of, and the schedule to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1861 (24 & 25 Vict. c. 101).
Notes
edit- ^ Start of session.
References
edit- ^ Gillon, S. "Congress opens all U.S. ports to international trade". History.com. A&E Television Networks. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
- ^ Forman, Samuel Eagle (1922). Our Republic: A Brief History of the American People. Century. p. 71. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
- ^ Mills, Brandon (2022). "Thirteen Clocks: How Race United the Colonies and Made the Declaration of Independence by Robert G. Parkinson (review)". Eighteenth-Century Studies. 55 (4): 574–575. doi:10.1353/ecs.2022.0044. ISSN 1086-315X.
- ^ From John Adams to Horatio Gates, 23 March 1776