#2
BOYCOTT
Boycotts were used by the colonists as a way of protesting
British laws and taxes. This form of protest was extremely
effective for two main reasons:
1. Hit the British where it hurt-The wallet!
2. Non-violent protest that anyone could be a part of
The use of raw materials, goods produced in the colonies,
and Yankee ingenuity were the order of the day.
Definitionto refuse to buy or
handle (goods) as a
punishment or
protest.
Non-­Importation
Agreements
Colonial resistance to British control took many forms, perhaps the most
effective was the general success of the non-importation agreements. They
had a chilling effect on the British Merchants who traded with the colonies.
Not incidentally, the customs offices in the colonies could not collect taxes
on goods that were either not allowed ashore at all, or were never sold.
The Boston Non-Importation Agreement of August 1, 1768, was a formal collective
decision made by Boston merchants and traders not to import or export items to
Britain. The agreement, essentially a boycott, was a series of agreed upon restrictions
the colonists put in place with regard to trade with the mother country, England. The
decision for the agreement came about as a way to protest and combat the 1767
Townshend Act. Under the Townshend Act, a tax had to be paid for the purchase of
glass, lead, oil, paint, paper, and tea. The Boston Non-Importation Agreement was
one of the most effective means of colonial resistance against British policy in
the years before the American Revolution. A similar tactic was again employed in
Boston and throughout the colonies five years later to protest the Tea Act with the
boycott of British East India Company‘s tea that culminated with the Boston Tea Party.