Massachusetts Government Act

Act of Parliament
Long titleAn Act for the Better Regulating the Government of the Province of the Massachusetts Bay, in New England.
Citation14 Geo. 3. c. 45
Introduced byThe Rt. Hon. Lord North, KG, MP
Prime Minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer & Leader of the House of Commons
Territorial extent Province of Massachusetts Bay
Dates
Royal assent20 May 1774
Commencement1 July 1774
Other legislation
Repealed byProvince of Massachusetts Bay Act 1778 (18 Geo 3 c 11)
Relates toIntolerable Acts
Status: Repealed
Text of statute as originally enacted

The Massachusetts Government Act (14 Geo. 3. c. 45) was passed by the Parliament of Great Britain, receiving royal assent on 20 May 1774. The act effectively abrogated the 1691 charter of the Province of Massachusetts Bay and gave its royally-appointed governor wide-ranging powers. The colonists declared that it altered, by parliamentary fiat, the basic structure of colonial government, and vowed to block its implementation. The act was a major step on the road to the start of the American Revolution in 1775.