Final answer:
The Intolerable Acts were a British response to the Boston Tea Party and other colonial protests, intended to punish Massachusetts, but they instead united the colonies and strengthened their resolve for independence.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Intolerable Acts were in response to a series of actions and protests by the American colonists, most notably the Boston Tea Party in 1773, where tea from the East India Tea Company was dumped into Boston Harbor as a protest against the Tea Act. These punitive measures taken by the British Parliament were meant to punish Massachusetts, particularly closing the port of Boston, limiting colonial assembly, and enforcing the quartering of British troops. The heavy-handedness of the Coercive Acts, perceived as an assault on colonial rights and liberties, led to widespread distrust and anger amongst the colonists.
As to why the Intolerable Acts were a final turning point for the colonists, it solidified their resolve against British measures. An unintended consequence of the Acts was the unification of the colonies in support of Massachusetts. This sense of unity and shared grievance was pivotal in organizing the First Continental Congress, which challenged British authority and led to the formulation of a collective boycott of British goods through the Continental Association, further establishing a de facto government separate from British control. Hence, option B is the correct response: They were a response to colonial unity; They strengthened colonial resolve for independence.