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The Molasses Act
The Molasses Act was imposed by Parliament as a way to get revenue. The act placed a tax on rum and molasses from non-English regions. -
Proclamation of 1763
The Proclamation of 1763 was issued by the British with the main purpose of promoting peace with the Native Americans by forbidding the colonists to settle west of the Appalachian Mountains. This proclamation also establishes new colonies that would help England gain more wealth. Lastly, England issued the Proclamation of 1763 because they did not want the colonists settling where English rule could not be implemented. -
Sugar Act
The Sugar Act was passed by England and it made importing foreign rum illegal. This act also lowered the duty on molasses and put a tax on wine, silk, coffee, and other goods. The lowered duty on molasses was supposed to encourage the colonists to get it from the Dutch and French. -
The Currency Act
The colonists had a shortage of currency to trade with, so they created their own paper money. This new money did not have any regulations and the value of it changed frequently, so the British merchants were very uncomfortable with it. Parliament then decided to pass the Currency Act which banned all of the new paper money, and assumed control of the economy in the colonies. The colonists were very unhappy with this and protested against it. -
The Stamp Act
The Stamp Act called for things like newspapers, licenses, pamphlets, and other legal documents to have revenue stamps. The English claimed that the money made from these stamps would be used to protect the colonies. -
The Quartering Act
Once the French and Indian war ended, England decided that some British troops should stay in the colonies. The Quartering Act required the colonists to house these troops and provide them with supplies. The colonists were mostly upset that the British troops were staying during a time of peace. -
The Declaratory Act
Parliament repealed the Stamp Act and modified the Sugar Act in response to the colonist's boycotting, but they also passed the Declaratory Act which stated that the colonies were dependent on England. The Declaratory Act also stated that Parliament was to make all laws for the colonists. -
The Townshend Acts
The Townshend Acts were passed by Parliament that taxed goods imported to the colonies from England. The revenue from this was said to be used to keep the British army in the colonies. The colonists were upset by the taxes because they did not have any representation in Parliament and felt like this was unfair. -
The Boston Massacre
A group of colonists gathered at the Customs House in Boston on March 5, 1770 to protest the presence of British troops who were sent there to enforce tax rules. The protesters began throwing snowballs at the troops. The troops then fired into the crowd, killing six and injuring five. Only two troops were found guilty of the murders. Faced with harsh criticism, Parliament then repealed all of the Townshend duties, except for the one on tea. The repeal was seen as a victory to many colonists. -
The Tea Act
The Tea Act was passed by Parliament and it allowed the East India Company to have a monopoly on the tea transported to the colonies. This act made smuggling tea ineffective and jeopardized many merchants businesses. The colonists were outraged by the Tea Act because they did not like that one company had complete control over the tea industry, and this act caused them to lose trade. -
The Boston Tea Party
The Tea Act made the colonists very angry, so Samuel Adams led a group of men disguised as Mohawk Indians to throw the tea cargo from three British ships into the Boston Harbor. This group of men were worried that the other colonists would give in and buy the tea and pay the tax on it. Britain was worried that if this went unpunished, then it would seem like they had no control over the colonists. So, they declared this an act of vandalism and decided to punish the colonists through legal means. -
The Quebec Act
The Quebec Act was passed right around the same time as the Intolerable Acts. The Quebec Act pushed the boundaries of the province of Quebec to the Ohio River. Due to French practice, some trails went without a jury, no representative assembly was organized, and the Catholics gained higher status which enraged the Protestants. The expansion to the North and Northeast was also threatened. Even though the Quebec Act was separate from the Intolerable Act, the colonists associated them together. -
The Intolerable Acts
In retaliation to the Boston Tea Party, Parliament passed a series of new laws. The first was called the Boston Port Bill, and it shut down the Boston port until the tea thrown into the harbor had been payed for. This caused an economic catastrophe in Boston. In other places, the governor's consent was needed to have town meetings. The colonists deemed these things as intolerable, so these acts were known as the Intolerable Acts. -
The First Continental Congress
Colonial representatives met in Philadelphia to discuss the current state of the colonies. Georgia was the only colony that did not send a delegate, and there were 55 in total. The Continental Congress formed the Continental Association which renewed the trading boycotts. A system of committees was established to look over custom entries, issue the names of merchants who went against the boycotts, and confiscate their imports. The colonists loyal to Britain were scared during this time.
