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Quebec Act of 1774

1774

A law passed under George III that granted religious and legal tolerance to French Catholics in Quebec, resented by American colonists as one of the 'Intolerable Acts'.

Passed under George III's reign, this act became one of the grievances colonists blamed directly on the King.

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Photograph of a handwritten vellum manuscript on a rolled scroll, with cursive legal text in brown ink beginning 'Whereas' and a marginal note above. The page is pale yellowed parchment on a grey background.
The Quebec Act, 1774. An Act for making more effectual Provision for the Government of the Province of Quebec in North America.

About this source

What it is

This is an act of the Parliament of Great Britain, passed in 1774 during the reign of George III, setting out how the Province of Quebec would be governed. It allowed free practice of Catholicism and restored French civil law, and is preserved as a handwritten vellum manuscript.

Why it matters

The act was meant to secure loyalty from French-speaking Canadiens after Britain's conquest of New France. But colonists in the Thirteen Colonies saw it as proof that the King and his government were expanding royal power and favoring Catholicism, and grouped it with other 'Intolerable Acts' that helped push the colonies toward revolution.

Look closer

  • Why might the same law please one group of British subjects and anger another?
  • What does the choice of words like 'Whereas' tell you about the formal language of 18th-century law?
  • Whose voices are missing from a document written by Parliament about governing another people's land?

This document is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of George III on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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