How did the British government respond to the colonists' protests against the Townshend Acts of 1767?

The colonists were unhappy with the passage of the Townshend Acts. This was another example of a tax the colonists felt was unfair. It placed taxes on imported goods, and the person importing the product paid the tax that was then passed on to the colonists. As a result of this law, the colonists agreed to boycott British goods and to make their own products. The British merchants were concerned about the colonists making their own products. This had the possibility of the merchants permanently losing customers, especially if the colonists were successful in making their own products.

While the British merchants were concerned about the loss of customers, the British government really didn’t respond to the actions of the colonists. While the number of British troops in the colonies increased, it wasn’t until the Boston Massacre occurred that the British took action regarding these taxes. After the Boston Massacre, the British removed most of the taxes created by the Townshend Acts. The only tax Parliament left in place was a tax on tea. Some colonists felt that by keeping this tax in place, the British were subtly informing the colonists the British could do whatever they wanted since these were their colonies. Then removal of most of these taxes did prevent the crisis caused by the Boston Massacre from erupting into something much bigger at that time. However, future events would eventually lead to Revolutionary War.

What was the British response to the Townshend Acts?

When the Townshend Acts were passed, the British had strong reasons for passing these laws.  The colonies were becoming more expensive to operate.  The British firmly believed the colonists should share in this cost.  Since the negative reaction to direct taxation, as with the Stamp Act, was so strong, the British tried to devise ways to collect taxes without the colonists knowing they were paying them. 

The taxes of the Townshend Acts were indirect taxes.  They were taxes on imports on products such as glass and tea. The taxes were paid by the importers and passed on to the consumers.  When the consumers bought these products, the taxes were included in the price they paid for the products.  Thus, the consumers really didn’t know they were paying the tax since the tax wasn’t directly added to the price at the point of sale. 

Additionally, the Townshend Acts reinforced the idea that writs of assistance were legal.  This allowed the British to search any colonist who was suspected of being involved in smuggling. The Townshend Acts stayed in effect until after the Boston Massacre.  They were repealed, except for a tax on tea, to try to calm down the colonists who were upset by the Boston Massacre.  The British were prepared to defend the reasons why the Townshend Acts were passed.