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.

---

Etymology

Origin of Townshend Acts

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

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

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

The taxes imposed by the Townshend Acts were as poorly received by the colonists as the Stamp Act had been.

From Textbooks ● Jul. 28, 2021

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