Liberty Affair

The Liberty Affair or Liberty Riot was a confrontation in Boston on 10 June 1768, following British customs officials' seizure of the ship Liberty, a sloop owned by wealthy merchant and tax-protester John Hancock. Britain had sent the American Board of Customs to Boston in 1767 to enforce the collection of customs duties established by the Townshend Acts. The tough enforcement of revenue regulations were met by crowd violence. Rioters beat up customs officials, who were forced to flee to Castle William in Boston Harbor for safety. The event is another demonstration of growing colonial resistance to British rule, one in a series that led to the American Revolution.