Charles Townshend (1725–1767), as the British chancellor of the Exchequer, was responsible for increasing tensions between Great Britain and the colonies through a series of measures Americans viewed as oppressive. Townshend rose to power in 1766 during the illness of William Pitt the Elder.To increase British control over the more and more economically and politically independent colonies, Townshend pushed through the passage of several resolutions that limited American self-government and increased taxation on colonial revenues. The...