Prohibitory Act
| Act of Parliament | |
| Long title | An act to prohibit all trade and inter-courses with the colonies of New Hampshire, Massachuset's Bay, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, the three lower counties on Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, during the continuance of the present rebellion within the said colonies respectively; for repealing an act, made in the fourteenth year of the reign of his present Majesty, to discontinue the landing and discharging, lading or shipping, of goods, wares, and merchandise, at the town and within the harbor of Boston, in the province of Massachuset's Bay; and also two acts, made in the last session of parliament, for restraining the trade and commerce of the colonies in the said acts respectively mentioned; and to enable any person or persons, appointed and authorised by his Majesty to grant pardons, to issue proclamations, in the cases, and for the purposes therein mentioned. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 16 Geo. 3 c. 5 |
| Territorial extent | British America and the British West Indies |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 22 December 1775 |
| Commencement | 26 October 1775 |
| Repealed | 6 August 1861 |
| Other legislation | |
| Amends | |
| Repeals/revokes | Trade Act 1774 |
| Repealed by | Statute Law Revision Act 1861 |
| Relates to | |
Status: Repealed | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
The Prohibitory Act 1775 (16 Geo. 3. c. 5) was an act of the Parliament of Great Britain in late 1775 which cut off all British trade with the rebellious Thirteen Colonies and instituted a blockade around the colonies, along with authorizing British vessels to seize colonial ships. In the text of the act, it referenced two acts passed by the last session of Parliament which were known as the Restraining Acts 1775. Issued after the outbreak of the American War of Independence in April 1775 with the Battles of Lexington and Concord, American Patriots responded to the act by issuing letters of marque to privateers, and it was referenced as one of the 27 colonial grievances of the United States Declaration of Independence.