Final answer:
The Coercive Acts were punitive laws directed at Massachusetts in response to the Boston Tea Party, leading to widespread colonial unrest and the eventual American Revolution.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Coercive Acts (1774), also known as the Intolerable Acts, were a series of measures enacted by the British Parliament to punish Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party and to reassert control over the American colonies. The acts included the Boston Port Act, which closed Boston Harbor until the tea was paid for; the Massachusetts Government Act, which restricted self-government; the Administration of Justice Act, allowing the royal governor to move trials of crown officials; and the Quartering Act, requiring local authorities to provide lodging for British soldiers. These acts particularly affected Massachusetts but had wider implications, leading to support from other colonies, the establishment of the Continental Congress, and the increase in tensions leading up to the American Revolutionary War.