The Sugar Act
Imagine not being able to use something as common as sugar without being robbed of your money. Sounds frustrating, right? That’s what happened to the American Colonists in 1764. Britain decided to tax the colonies, and the colonists didn’t even have a say in it! Sugar was one of the many things to be taxed. The Sugar Act frustrated the colonists with how it began, Taxation Without Representation, how it lead to the Revolutionary War, and the other effects it had.
One of the many reasons The Sugar Act infuriated the colonists was the reason that it was passed by the British Parliament. The main goal of The Sugar Act was to crack down on smuggling and raise money for the British Military and pay for the French and Indian War. It was passed because the British waited a long
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The colonists participated in smuggling to try to avoid the taxes, and The Sugar Act made legal sugar trade and transport extremely complicated and frustrating, which also made smuggling seem more appealing for the colonists (“The Sugar Act”). This caused the British to crack down on smuggling and enforce the collecting of the taxes, further angering the colonists. This is only one of the many acts that taxed the colonists. Each one angered the colonists more and more, ultimately leading to the Revolutionary War and the liberation of the colonies (Tim George, “The 4 Acts That Lead To The American Revolution”).
The Sugar Act had affected the colonies in different ways. To start, there was a shortage of rum, due to the taxation and shortage of sugar (“Sugar Act”). The Sugar Act was passed during an economic depression in the colonies, where most of the colonist’s money was spent on providing food and housing for the British soldiers. The colonists assumed the new tax program to be the cause of their economic problems. Protests and requests for the act’s repeal sprang up immediately (“Greenville’s Sugar
The Tea Act angered the colonist the most because for one they took action and threw over tea into the Boston harbor, and because it’s the India company that’s getting all the money, they have the monopoly. Also, the Boston Tea Party (which was what happened because of Tea Act) lead to the British passing the Coercive act which shut down the Boston harbor from importing or exporting. The Sugar Act is the one that angered them the least because it was the first tax the colonies had gotten, they would have been okay with it because at this time they still liked Britain. Also, it only taxed sugar and molasses and the Tea Act hadn’t been passed yet so they could still have their tea but the sugar would have been just a bit more expensive than
The French and Indian war sunk Great Britain into deep debt, so they decided to put tax on items that the colonies often used or needed, which of course the colonists refused to pay. “no taxation without representation” was the colonists chant, they did not want to pay the taxes unless the elected representatives had a right to pass taxes if wanted and if the laws passed by their own governmental body. The British were being unfair towards the colonists so the colonists did not do the task given to them easily but brutally. Molasses were a big part of the triangular trade and was very highly taxed which resulted in most people smuggling in the molasses. In 1764 Greenville asked parliament to raise taxes on molasses.
The Sugar Act of 1764 (or Revenue Act) was an attempt to reduce the debt encountered by England after the Seven Years’ War. Prime Minister George Grenville was the one to enforce it. The problem was that merchants and gentry were not pleased with the Act. Consequently, they protested against it. In addition, another Act, called the Stamp Act, was declared a year later.
These acts were put into place in order to obtain the money to protect the colonists. “This revenue is … for maintaining these colonies requires a large revenue to support it. [Document F]” The Sugar Act was the first of the taxes imposed on to the colonists in order to increase revenue for the British. The Sugar Act of 1764 was a tax on sugar and molasses imported into the colonies which impacted the manufacture of rum in New England. The Stamp Act of 1765 was designed to raise revenue from the American Colonies by a tax in the form of a stamp required on all newspapers and legal or commercial documents.
The British Parliament made the colonists angry by implementing a multitude of different taxes to help carry the financial burden that was going on in Britain and in the Colonies; in some aspects the British used the money to help the colonies, but Parliament often took the taxes too far. The first major act that that will be looked at is the Sugar Act of 1764. The reason that this first tax (act) was implemented was to regulate the smuggling of sugar and molasses into the colonies from the French and the West Indies, or any other non-British Caribbean sources, hence the name “Sugar” act. The act itself was a revamped version of the 1733 Molasses act. Basically, the act was set up to create a monopoly for the British plantations in the West
Sugar Interest The Sugar Interest could be blamed for the Revolutionary War because their initial decision to give the French back their Caribbean colony resulted in a chain of events that caused the colonists to rebel against Britain. The British gave back France’s Caribbean colonies to lower the amount of sugar being produced, therefore having the opportunity to increase the price in the colonies. Britain also began enforcing the Sugar Act, which placed an importation tax on Non-British Sugar and Non-British Rum. As the British Parliament continued placing new taxes on the American Colonies, the colonists began revolting against the crown.
British imperial policies between 1763 and 1776 intensified colonials' resistance to British rule and their commitment to Republican values. New imperial policies led to a strong displeasure of the British by colonists who had become accustomed to a self-governed life. These new taxes and constraints on colonial life enhanced Republican values in the minds of colonists; something that eventually caused the colonies to separate from the British monarchy. In 1764, the British passed the Sugar Act, lowering the tax on molasses, but adding taxes on other items such as sugar, an act which Lord Grenville assured would be strictly enforced.
The Sugar Act, also known as the American Revenue Act or the American Duties Act, was one of the laws that led to anger, dislike, disagreement, and eventually revolution in Colonial America. Another effect was an increase in smuggling and crime in the colonies. The colonists did not want to pay the outrageous taxes so they looked for ways not to have to pay. A third effect was the colonists decided to stop buying luxury products from Great Britain and looked to local manufacturers for their products. They did this to avoid paying the high
The sugar act started in 1764. “April,5 1764... A new law passed called the Sugar and Molasses Act. Colonial merchants...were required to pay tax of six-pence…” All molasses was imported. Most of the colonist tried to buy french molasses and sugar at a cheaper price.
There were many events leading up to the revolutionary war but the Stamp Act and Sugar Act had its impact. These two acts are a part of what got the conflict started between Great Britain and America; The Sugar Act, was a law that imposed taxes on certain imports and the Stamp Act, is a law that levied new excise taxes. The colonist posed such strong opposition against the taxes the British government were implemented that it was
2. Describe the similarities and differences between English Colonies established in the late 1600s (p.82-83) 4 restoration colonies, proprietorships, were granted by King Charles II: New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Carolina All colonies had the idea of restoring monarchy Proprietors ruled the colonies as they wanted with the consideration of the English law Most colonies followed the Church of England’s teaching while Pennsylvania reflected on the Quaker belief Quakers believed in “inner light” and gender equality in both religion and politics This made Pennsylvania as the most democratic and open colony among them 3.
The colonists wanted representation when it came down to being taxed, but the British government would not allow it. The government wanted full control over the people, so they made sets of acts and laws that were placed on taxation. For example, the Stamp Acts of 1765. These acts taxed all papers, pamphlets, newspapers, and cards. The Townshend Acts of 1767 were also a large part of taxation.
The act that most likely angered the colonists the least was the Sugar Act. This act required the price of
The taxes that the Sugar Act placed made the most money for Britain, more than any of the other taxes did. The colonist were very upset with the Sugar Act because of the way it was enforced. The Sugar Act took away the colonist’s right to a trial by jury when the British set up the Admiralty courts. Admiralty courts were where a judge decides the outcome rather than the colonial courts. The judges would earn 5% of however much the cargo load was worth if they could prove the person accused was guilty.
The French-Indian War of 1754-1763 resulted in political, ideological, and economic alterations within Britain and its American colonies. The French and Indian War, also referred to as The Seven Years War, began with British and French conflicts across the Ohio River Valley, as both nations wanted to claim the land for themselves. The first blood of the French-Indian War began with multiple British failures, including Washington’s dreadful defeat at Fort Necessity and General Braddock’s failed attempt at conquering Fort Duquesne, in which he died along with two-thirds of his army (Document C). The British would, however, gain momentum in 1759 with multiple victories, including their most significant triumph, Quebec.