Which of the following highlighted the growing tensions between British authority and colonial governance?

The Townshend Acts are significant in highlighting the growing tensions between British authority and colonial governance because they represented a key shift in British policy towards the American colonies. Enacted in 1767, the Townshend Acts imposed duties on various goods imported into the colonies, including glass, tea, paper, and paint. This legislation was met with strong resistance from the colonists, who saw it as an attempt by Britain to exert control over their economic activities and to raise revenue without their consent, which violated the principle of "no taxation without representation."

As a result, the Townshend Acts prompted widespread protests and the growth of organized resistance movements, such as the non-importation agreements. These acts not only intensified the existing friction between the colonies and the British government but also highlighted the colonists' sense of political identity as they began to unite against what they viewed as oppressive measures. The response to the Townshend Acts ultimately laid the groundwork for greater acts of defiance, such as the Boston Tea Party, and set the stage for more serious conflicts leading up to the American Revolution.

The other choices, while relevant to colonial grievances and conflicts with British authority, either did not generate the same level of widespread resistance (like the Quartering Act