Asked by obamason

“The Inhabitants of the Massachusetts bay were notorious in the smuggling Business, from the Capital Merchant down to the meanest Mechanick [poorest craftsmen]. . . . So lost to all Sense of Honor was this Set of Men, that the smuggling Trade went on as usual, until at last . . . it brought on the present Rebellion. . . .

“. . . The Ministry . . . procured a new Act [in 1767] to be passed, laying Duties upon Tea, Glass, Paper, and Painters Colours. This Act was not more unreasonable than many other Acts which had been submitted to for many Years past, and which, even at this Time, they made no Objection to. . . .

“As to the Glass in particular, the Duty was so trifling, that it would not have enhanced the Price of it to the Purchaser. . . . The true Reason of Opposition was this: The Inhabitants of the Colonies were a Race of Smugglers. They carried an extensive Trade with the Dutch, not only in Holland, but very greatly with the Dutch Settlements in the West Indies. . . . The Smugglers then, who were the prevailing Part of the Traders in the Capitals of the several Provinces, found it necessary for their Interest, to unite in defeating the Operation of the Act.”

Peter Oliver, former chief justice of the royal colony of Massachusetts, Origin and Progress of the American Rebellion

a Briefly describe the point of view expressed by Oliver in the excerpt.

b Briefly describe a historical situation in which Oliver produced the excerpt.

c Briefly describe ONE piece of evidence used by Oliver to support his argument in the excerpt.

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All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
a) Oliver speaks as a loyalist who defends British policy. He blames the colonists for being smugglers and says their smuggling and refusal to pay tiny duties caused the rebellion.

b) He wrote about the events after the Townshend Acts (1767), when Britain put small taxes on tea, glass, paper, and paint. Colonists in Massachusetts protested, used smuggling and boycotts, and tensions grew toward the American Revolution.

c) He points out that the duty on glass was "so trifling" it would not raise the buyer’s price, using that fact to argue the colonists’ complaints were not about money but about protecting their smuggling trade (which he also describes as widespread with Dutch merchants).