THIRD INTOLERABLE ACT (1774). An Act for the better regulating the Government of the Province of the Massachusets Bay, in New England.

Folio (11.75 inches). 14 George III, Chapter 45. General title leaf + pages 1047-1062. Woodcut Royal coat of arms, headband, and decorative initial. Text in Black Letter. Neatly extracted from a bound volume and expertly mended. In response to the Boston Tea Party of December 1773, the British government passed punitive legislation in the form of five Intolerable Acts in 1774 in the attempt to regain control over American colonists. This is the third such Act, known as the Massachusetts Government Act, 1774, which nullified the Massachusetts Charter of 1691 and gave its royally-appointed governor wide-ranging powers. The Act also restricted the authority of colonial assemblies, and banned all town meetings that did not meet with the approval of British officials.