The Petition of Mr. Bollan, Agent for the Council of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, to the King in Council, Dated January 26, 1774. Published with Illustrations. In Order Briefly to Shew to the Impartial and Considerate the Importance of...
- William Bollan (author)
- Jack P. Greene (collection editor)
This 1774 pamphlet by William Bollan — agent for the Council of the Province of Massachusetts Bay — presents a formal petition to King George III on the eve of the American Revolution, accompanied by supporting commentary intended to demonstrate the vital importance of reconciliation between Britain and its colonies. The work argues for the importance of perfect harmony between Great Britain and the colonies, reflecting Bollan’s evolved political views. Though initially supportive of Parliament’s supremacy, Bollan had come to defend Old Whig principles favoring free speech, oppose standing armies, and endorse limiting all legislatures — including Parliament — to their respective localities.
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The text of these 18th century pamphlets has been converted by machine from scanned PDFs of the original microfilm copies. While the text has been machine-proofed, transcription errors may still remain. For example, the 18th-century long S, ſ , may be rendered as “f,” some words may be incorrectly transcribed, and there may be repeated words or phrases.