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Proclamation of 1763
The proclamation of 1763 came shortly after English victory in the seven years war. The act created new colonies in America including Quebec, Florida and Grenada. More importantly for the colonies the act created an Indian reserve in all the land west of the Appalachians and prohibited settlement there. -
Sugar Act
The Sugar Act wan an attempt to end the widespread smuggling of sugar from French and Dutch plantations. The act placed large tariffs on the importation of sugar and gave much more authority to English ships to seize goods from ships. -
Quartering Act
The Quartering Act was passed following the seven years war to reduce the costs of supplying troops. It required colonial authorities to provide provisions for English soldiers in the colonies. -
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act was one of the first attempts by parliament to impose a direct tax on the new world colonies. The resulting riots and widespread noncompliance rendered the act effectively useless, other than greatly upsetting the colonists. -
Declaratory Act
The Declaratory Act coincided with the repeal of the stamp act after unrest in the colonies put pressure on parliament. The act itself asserted that parliament had as much power in the colonies as it had in England itself including the ability to tax. -
Townshend Acts
The Townshend Act were a series of act that were intended to produce more revenue for the government. The act placed import duties on several goods such as lead, glass, paper, and tea. The act increased the number of ships and and workers searching for smuggled goods. The suspending act was in direct response to noncompliance with the quartering act and suspended the powers of the New York assembly until they complied with the quartering act. -
Massachusetts Government Act
This act came in response to noncompliance with previous acts passed by parliament. The act suspended the charter of the Massachusetts colony effectively putting it under direct English rule. -
The Tea Act
While the parliament had repealed all of the townshend acts except for the duty on tea due to British sales in America plummeting. The British East India company was struggling to sell Tea. The parliament changed regulations through the Tea act that allowed the East India company to bypass American wholesalers and sell directly to distributors allowing them to undercut smuggled competition. In response Americans in Boston dumped tea from British ships into the ocean in the Boston tea party. -
British response to the Boston Tea Party
The parliament, enraged by the Boston Tea Party revoke the colonial charter of Massachusetts, ban town meetings to only once a year, station British troops in the colony and make a general the governor of the colony. -
The Quebec Act
This act expanded the borders of Quebec greatly going as far west as the Mississippi river and as far south as the Ohio river. Due to the colonies french influence the catholic church and french law were prevalent throughout his colony upsetting American settlers who wished to settle the land there. -
The First Continental Congress
The First Congress of representatives from across the colonies meet to discuss a response to British oppression. The Congress decides on a boycott of British goods to harm British merchant and reduce revenue from import duties.