Townshend Acts

American  

[taun-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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Townshend Acts

Townshend was Chancellor of the Exchequer for little more than a year, and died in 1767 just after Parliament passed the last of the Townshend Acts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 13, 2026

In 1767 the Townshend Acts had placed duties on imports including glass, paper and tea.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026

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

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

News of the passage of the Townshend Acts and of the suspension of the New York legislature was already causing a wave of indignation in Virginia when the General Assembly met in March.

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

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