Consequences
After the Circular Letter had been passed and issued to other colonies, Lord Hillsborough, secretary of state for the colonies, ordered the Massachusetts General Court to revoke it. The body voted against revoking the letter, 92-17. In response to the General Court's defiance, Governor Francis Bernard dissolved the assembly. This led to an outbreak of mob violence from colonists who no longer had any legal way to deal with their grievances. They attacked customs officials, making it impossible for them to perform their duties. In response to the deteriorating situation, Lord Hillsborough sent four regiments of British soldiers to Boston. Arriving in October 1768, the soldiers only increased the tensions, as recorded in the anonymously penned "Journal of Occurrences", which chronicled the occupation. These tensions culminated on March 5, 1770 with the Boston Massacre.
Read more about this topic: Massachusetts Circular Letter
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