Townshend Acts

American  

[toun-zuhnd] / ˈtaʊn zənd /

plural noun

American History.

1. acts of the British Parliament in 1767, especially the act that placed duties on tea, paper, lead, paint, etc., imported into the American colonies.

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Etymology

Origin of Townshend Acts

Named after Charles Townshend (1725–67), English statesman, their sponsor

Example Sentences

From Britain’s Townshend Acts of 1767, which helped fuel the American Revolution, to the Smoot-Hawley Tariff of 1930, which deepened the Great Depression, tariffs have proved politically toxic.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 28, 2026

Wall panels remind us of the Townshend Acts, the Tea Act and the Boston Massacre, all seminal events that led the Colonies to eventually break away from Britain.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 18, 2025

We all learned about the different taxes, the sugar tax and the Townshend Acts, etc., but what people don't really think about is how frustrated the British were at the time as well.

From Salon • Mar. 18, 2020

The experience of resisting the Townshend Acts provided another shared experience among colonists from diverse regions and backgrounds, while the partial repeal convinced many that liberty had once again been defended.

From Textbooks • Dec. 30, 2014

The Burgesses adopted the report of the committee calling for a boycott on English goods to force the repeal of the Townshend Acts and invited the other colonies to join the association.

From The Road to Independence: Virginia 1763-1783 by Virginia. History, Government, and Geography Service