After the “Seven Year War” between Britain and France, Britain had to find new ways to finance its massive empire after obtaining territories from France. However, this caused tensions between the colonies in the North America and Britain began to rise. One of the measures that the British employed was the “Writs of Assistance” which was meant to stop American merchants from trading goods with France. Then the “Sugar Act” was enforced in 1764 to raise revenue to protect, defend and secure North America. Then by 1765, the “Stamp Act” was passed in order to make the colonists pay as much taxes as the British to help them get out of their financial crisis. Through 1766-1770 the colonists began to resist the British Empire because of how they
The imposition of taxes on the American Colonies by the British Government in the 1760s set in motion a series of action and reaction that led to a break between the components of the British Empire. Americans responded with much anger and public resistance to the Stamp Act in 1763. Much of this resistance was expressed in the colonies of Massachusetts and Virginia. In Massachusetts, the mobs not only threatened violence, but damaged and at times destroyed the property of officials who were involved in the Stamp Act’s implementation. Virginia on the other hand took legislative action denouncing the imposition of taxes on the Colonies by Parliament. It was Virginia’s example that was followed nine of her sister colonies when their legislatures made similar resolutions. These actions also lled to the formation of the Stamp Act Congress in October 1765 (Middlekauff, 2005). This Stamp Act Congress sent an appeal to Parliament and the King requesting the repeal of the Stamp Act with the justification that the costs associated with the act would prevent the colonies from purchasing British goods (Brown & Carp, 2014).
The British government had just fought a costly war with France and needed money to pay for medical care and damage. Needing a source for funds, the British turned to their newly acquired land and sought after the colonies for payment. This led to the British government tightening control over the colonies and made them feel oppressed. The British imposed several acts on the colonies. One of these acts was the Sugar Act of 1764. The purpose of the law was to stop the smuggling of goods in and out of the colonies. Naval officers used writs of assistance to enter colonial
Starting after the termination of the Seven-Year’s war, by the Peace of Paris, England repeatedly violated the American Colonists’ rights. A series of events, happening between 1763(ending of the Seven-Years’ war) and 1775 (starting of the revolution), could be taken as motives for the American’s revolution. The Americans claimed that through both, the Sugar Act (1764) and the Stamp Act (1765), the British dishonored their rights to taxation. The Townshend Acts also infuriated the Americans, and as in all other circumstances, they were willing to fight for their rights. The final justification for the
While the British were in high demand of money due to the debt that the previous war had pulled over them, taxation was the only solution towards their predicament. The Stamp Act, a taxation laid on the colonists, was the first of many taxes to bestow tension between the two opposing sides. The Stamp Act placed a tax on anything that involved paper. While this act was being laid onto the colonists, this was only the beginning of the uprisings. Another act that was laid onto the colonists was the quartering act. Soldiers from the British army needed places to live, and the British were putting this responsibility onto the colonists. Their views were that the colonists
During the rages leading up to the Revolutionary War, the multiple acts of parliament, such as the Sugar and Stamp Acts, were used as tools over the colonies and kindled the hatred of the Crown for the majority of the colonists, thus sparking the flame needed to begin the Revolutionary War. From the very beginning of the colonization of North America by Great Britain, the colonies were looked down upon by the so-thought “higher-ups” of the English parliament and people.
Britain’s responded to the colonists’ dislike of the Sugar Act by adding a new harsher tax. Grenville and parliament enacted The Stamp Act. The Stamp Act required colonists’ to purchase special stamps and place them on all legal documents. Stamped paper was required for everything from newspapers to playing cards. Once again British thought of this tax to be reasonable because they had employed a tax similar to this in Britain. This only made the situation worse because colonists’ got very upset and protested against it. Crowds of angry colonists’ attacked homes of British officials.
Leading up to the revolt were events that further agitated the colonists and began to strain the relationship between them and Britain. After the French and Indian War, a huge debt was hanging in the balance. In order to gain revenue to pay imperial debt, Parliament began to look towards the American Colonists to not only subsidize these costs, but to reign in their control over them. Therefore, Parliament looked towards taxation to fund the costs of war and felt that since much of the money was spent to protect the American Colonist, they should share in the repayment. The first to be enforced was the Sugar Act, which taxed molasses. The colonist had no say in this law and therefore this stirred up the colonists even more and they began to boycott certain British merchandise. (Kennedy 2012)
While the British leaders tried to increase control over their empire, laws concerning imperial trade were on the books for many generations. American colonists had been known to evade any such regulation and even traded with the French. Britain was unfair in many trade policies and began to reform the imperial system. They enforced higher taxes and costs for their own defence from the American colonists. They created additional revenue by realizing stricter control in navigation and trade. The Sugar Act of 1764 passed by the parliament attempted to increase the revenue of the colonies by incurring a tax on molasses. While this tax was in the books since 1730, smuggling and laxity in enforcement couldn’t let the law win. As the tax was supposed to be enforced, it created a big outcry among those who were affected and therefore the American colonists created a large scale boycott of many British goods for the same reason. The parliament enacted stiff measures that were known as the Stamp Act and it increased tax on
As part of the terms of the peace treaty that ended the war, the French government was forced to cede almost all of its holdings in North America, including Canada, to the victorious British Empire (CITE PEACE TERMS). Despite the fact that Britain was victorious and defeated its French adversaries, it was burdened with massive financial debt after seven years of continuous war against its enemies all around the globe. To finance this heavy debt, the British government in London introduced a number of financial measures that would aid in creating income. One of the first of these measures was the Stamp Act of 1765 which imposed a tax on the colonies by requiring that almost all printed materials be produced on stamped paper which came from London (STAMP ACT CITE). While the British government believed that this measure was a fair way to increase revenue from the colonies which had benefited from British protection through the length of the Seven Years War, many did not feel this way. The Stamp Act was met great resistance in the colonies due to the fact that the colonies had no representatives in Parliament, and therefore they had no influence over what taxes were raised, how they were levied, or how they would be spent (NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION QUOTE). Many colonists considered it a violation of their fundamental rights as British subjects since they were being taxed without
The year 1770 had inflamed many colonist in the Americas into blind uncontrollable wrath, while the colonists tried to become a self-ruling state and discard the strong unbreakable clinch the British had on the Americas, the British had established several obstacles making the colonists having to work harder to become an independent country. Several acts was placed upon the American colonists such as the Sugar Act, Stamp Act, Quartering Act, and the Currency Act that had restricted America to broaden their horizons and become economically stable to grow and flourish and imposed additional taxes on common products imported into the colonies such as paper, glass, and tea, The colonists soon started smuggling (moving goods illegally into and
The years prior to the Revolutionary War proved to be a trying time for the early American colonists. The French and Indian War, or Seven Years War, represented the decisive turning point in British-colonial relations. The Treaty of Paris in 1763 ratified Britain’s undisputed control of the seas and shipping trade, as well as its sovereignty over much of the North American continent east of the Mississippi River (Tax Analysts, 2015). During this time, the British parliament posed many taxes on the colonists in an effort to decrease the large debt incurred by many years of fighting. Acts such as the Sugar Act, Currency Act, Stamp Act, Quartering Act, Townshend Act, and the Tea Act, forced the colonists to pay hefty taxes on a number of goods.
Victory in the french and indian war was costly for the british. At war’s conclusion in 1763, king George 111 and his government looked to taxing the American colonies as a way of recouping their war cost, they thought that people want to pay tax, then to give up their tea(Pamela 1). The British also looked for ways to renew control over the colonial government that had became highly independent while the crown was distracted by the war. The Americans came to begin a new life, one of fulfillment and reward. These men and women did not like the life of harassment by others they did not share the same beliefs. These settlers did not like life where their socialist government made the masses conforms to their economic demands. In 1764 parliament taxed everything made from sugar this was known as the Sugar Act(Burgan 1). They taxed honey, silk, wine and coffee. One year later the Stamp Act begun. In 1765 parliament taxed all printed things. They raised the price of newspapers, mortgages, licenses, and playing cards.
The American Revolution, a political upheaval that took place between 1763 and 1775 during which the rebels in the original thirteen American colonies overthrew the authority of the British Crown and founded what we are today, The United States of America. The following events that occurred between 1763 and 1775 were the final events that led to conflict between The American colonies and Great Britain which ultimately lead to America’s independence. Proclamation of 1763, an order from King George III prohibiting all settlement west of the Appalachian mountains. Through miscommunication the relationship between the colonies and Britain became rough as the colonist believed that this boundary was solely enforced to make regulation and control easy for Britain, where the colonist wanted to expand westward. The Sugar Act of 1764, the first attempt by the British government to try to finance the defence of the colonies by placing a tax on sugar and molasses imported into the colonies. The Stamp Act of 1765, a stamp tax that was placed on all legal papers, newspapers, pamphlets, and on any piece of printed paper that was used. This tax however, was later repealed due to the colonists boycotts due to the belief that they were being taxed for extra income and no other beneficial reason. The Quartering Act of 1765, stating that all basic needs that British soldiers stationed in the colonies needed
In 1765 the British passed the terrible Stamp Act, which taxed the colonist. The British back home used he tax money to build and strengthen the British army for the war in France and Spain "American Colonist Declare Independence". The colonies were angry with the British because of the outrageous taxing, so they boycotted the British goods. They also would poor tar and feathers on the tax collectors. The colonist were so destructive that the British repeal the Stamp Act in 1766. Just 6 years after the Stamp Act the British needed more money so they created Tea Act in 1773 which the colonist viewed it as another unnecessary taxation "American Colonist Declare Independence". The colonist began to take the British taxation into physical actions, so they dump about 18,000 Euros of tea substance into the Boston harbor. The British responded by closing down the Boston port which put the colonist into a recession, and were still getting taxed. This is the first time the congress considered to resist from the British. April 19, 1775 the first shots were fired by the British fighting a resistance group. Both the colonist and the British saw it as a civil war "American Colonist Declare Independence". The King only saw it as a rebellion from the homeland. All the colonist wanted was to
Many acts and taxes were imposed upon the American colonists, and this continued to anger and ignite a flame of rebellion in their eyes. The laws and acts were viewed as unfair, unreasonable, and absurd. In particular, there are three primary acts that are passed that made a true difference in their views of the British government. These three acts include the Sugar Act of 1764, the Quartering Act of 1765, and the Stamp Act of 1765. The Sugar Act is one of the first major acts that is passed. The Sugar Act was designed to raise revenue in the colonies, and it set a tax on imported sugar and molasses, which caused strife with the ongoing manufacturing of rum in New England (landofthebrave.info). The colonists were mostly against this act because of the fact that they had never been exposed to actual laws being strictly enforced. Another act, the Quartering Act, progressed the resentment of the government to an even further extent. This quartering act forced the colonists to