Quartering Act (2 results)
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Published by London: Printed by Mark Baskett, 1765., 1765
Seller: William Reese Company, New York, NY, U.S.A.William Reese Company
Contact seller5-star sellerAn attractive separate printing of the first Quartering Act issued by Parliament affecting Britain's North American colonies, setting the stage for the Intolerable Acts a decade later. The act stipulated that the government could house its soldiers in private residences, but if its soldiers outnumbered the housing available, it…authorized them to occupy "inns, livery stables, ale houses, victualing houses, and the houses of sellers of wine and houses of persons selling of rum, brandy, strong water, cider or metheglin," as well as "uninhabited houses, outhouses, barns, or other buildings." Colonial authorities were required to pay the cost of housing and feeding these soldiers. Quartering troops at any time was not uncommon historically, but previous acts noted that citizens could not be compelled to quarter troops, and that they must be paid or reimbursed for their expenses. Likewise, local governments providing provisions and quartering troops was not uncommon during times of war, notably the French and Indian War. However, now that the war was over, General Thomas Gage, commander of forces in British North America, was having trouble persuading colonial assemblies to pay for ongoing quartering and feeding his troops on the march, and thus asked Parliament to do something. This act went far beyond what Gage had requested: now colonists were compelled to quarter troops and were forced to pay and feed them with no promise of reimbursement. No standing army had ever been kept in the colonies before the French and Indian War, indeed the existence of a standing army during peacetime was prohibited by the Bill of Rights of 1688/9. Thus, the colonists justly asked why a standing army was needed after the French had been defeated. When 1,500 British troops arrived in New York (headquarters for British colonial forces) in 1766, the New York Provincial Assembly refused to comply with the act; the troops had to remain aboard ship. Skirmishes broke out between soldiers and colonists, and Parliament threatened to suspend the New York governor and assembly in 1767 and 1769. Eventually, the assembly agreed to allocate funds for quartering in 1771. This Act was issued separately with a general titlepage (as here), and also as part of Anno Regni Georgii III.at the Parliament Begun.the Nineteenth Day of May, Anno Dom. 1761.and from Thence Continued by Several Prorogations to the Tenth Day of January, 1765. An important document in the rise of tensions between the American Colonies and Great Britain. ESTC N56865. Folio. Dbd. Lacks stitching, gatherings mostly loose, some minor soiling and tanning. Else a bright and clean copy, very good or better.
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Published by London: Printed by Mark Baskett, Printer to the King's most Excellent Majesty; and by the Assigns of Robert Baskett, 1765, 1765
- First Edition
Seller: Peter Harrington. ABA/ ILAB., London, United KingdomPeter Harrington. ABA/ ILAB.
Contact seller5-star sellerCondition: Used
US$ 3,094.24
US$ 29.37 shippingShips from United Kingdom to U.S.A.Quantity: 1 available
Add to basketFirst edition of the initial Quartering Act, which required American colonies to house and feed British troops. This effectively established a British standing army on American soil, funded by the colonists who had no representation in Parliament. Strong opposition to this Act and its successors fuelled the growing tensions that… eventually led to the American Revolution. Most colonies had voluntarily provided quartering and provisions during the Seven Years War, but in the ensuing peace were unwilling to do so. General Thomas Gage requested Parliament to pass the Act, which went further than he had envisaged - if accommodation was full, the troops could occupy inns, ale houses, stables, barns, and uninhabited buildings. Colonial authorities were required to pay the costs. There was major popular protest and opposition. New York refused to comply with the act, leading parliament to suspend its governor and assembly. The Act expired in 1767 but another followed in 1774 in the aftermath of the Boston Tea Party, one of the Intolerable Acts that resulted in the founding of the First Continental Congress. ESTC N56865. Folio (306 x 197 mm), pp. [2], 579-596. Disbound. Lightly toned. An excellent copy.
