why does decreasing the volume of a container in which a liquid is held not affect the vapor pressure of the liquid?
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The liquid and vapor are in a dynamic equilibrium. Changing the volume of the container shifts the equilibrium so that the pressure remains the same. If the volume is decreased, some vapor goes to the liquid state so that the pressure remains constant. If the volume is increased some liquid vaporizes so that the pressure remains constant. The only factor affecting vapor pressure is temperature.
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If you could magically reduce the size of a container without opening it the pressure would increase. The answer your looking for has to do with out gassing. Once it reaches a certain pressure the molecules can no longer out gas against that pressure. The size of the container doesn't matter.
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The vapor pressure is determined at the surface of the liquid/air interface.
It depends on temperature, not volume.
It depends on temperature, not volume.