How An Obscure Canadian Bill Helped Spark The American Revolution
An Unforgivable Act that targeted Canadians, not Americans
When it comes to the causes of the American Revolution, most people can comfortably point to the Intolerable Acts (also known as the Coercive Acts) as the last major straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back. The Intolerable Acts are traditionally considered to be the Boston Port Act, the Massachusetts Government Act, the Administration of Justice Act, and the Quartering Act. These laws were passed by the British Parliament as a punitive measure in response to the Boston Tea Party which took place the previous year in 1773.
But there was another piece of legislation bundled in the same session that caused just as much outrage (if not more) among the common people than these acts. Many of these acts were targeted specifically at the territory of Massachusetts and Boston itself but the Quebec Act, targeted at Canada, did more to enrage average American colonists than any of the acts aimed at Boston.
The Quebec Act of 1774
After the French and Indian War, the British came into possession of the French province of Quebec in North America. In 1774, Quebec was still largely French speaking and there were simmering tensions in Quebec among the…
