The British called their responsive measures to the Boston Tea Party the COERCIVE ACTS. Boston Harbor was closed to trade until the owners of the tea were compensated. Only food and firewood were permitted into the port. Town meetings were banned, and the authority of the royal governor was increased.Throughout the colonies, the message was clear: what could happen in Massachusetts could happen anywhere. The British had gone too far. Supplies were sent to the beleaguered colony from the other twelve. For the first time since the Stamp Act Crisis, an intercolonial conference was called.It was under these tense circumstances that the FIRST CONTINENTAL CONGRESS convened in Philadelphia on September 5, 1774.