1774Reputable sourceWell documented
The Intolerable Acts and the First Continental Congress
On the timeline · around 1774 ·
What happened
Britain answered the Tea Party with the Coercive Acts of 1774 — called the 'Intolerable Acts' in America — which closed the port of Boston and curtailed Massachusetts self-government. In response, delegates from twelve colonies met in Philadelphia in September 1774 as the First Continental Congress to coordinate resistance and organize a boycott of British goods.
Why it matters
The Intolerable Acts turned a local quarrel into a common cause, and the Continental Congress became the body through which the colonies would soon wage war and declare independence.