Document E ...It shall not be lawful for any person or persons whatsoever to lade put, or cause or
procure to be laden or put, o or from any quay, wharf, or other place, within the said
town of Boston, or in or upon any part of the shore of the bay, commonly called The
Harbour of Boston... into any ship, vessel, lighter, boat, or bottom, any goods, wares,
or merchandise whatsoever, to be transported or carried into any other country,
province or place whatsoever, into any other part of the said province of the
Massachusetts's Bay, in New England... of any boat, lighter, ship, vessel, or bottom,
any goods, wares, or merchandise whatsoever, to be brought from any other country,
province, or place, or any other part of the said province of the Massachusetts's Bay
in New England, upon pain of the forfeiture of the said goods, wares, and
merchandise, and of the said boat, lighter, ship, or vessel or other bottom into which
the same shall be taken, and of the guns, ammunition, tackle, furniture, and stores, in
or belonging to the same... such barge, hoy, lighter, wherry, or boat, shall be forfeited
and lost.
The Boston Port Act, March 31, 1774
1. Explain what rights the people of Boston had lost, according to the Boston Port
Act. Support your answer with evidence from the text.
2. What was the primary cause of this law's creation?
3. When thinking about British rule in the 1700s and our current democracy, how
much power should a government be able to exert over its citizens? Why?