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The French and Indian War in the colonies nearly doubled Britain's national debt and greatly expanded its colonial territories. Parliament was in need to raise money, both to pay the debt and to protect the colonies. People in Britain paid far more taxes than the colonists did.
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The new prime minister, George Grenville, proposed raising money by collecting duties already in effect. Lower the duty on foreign molasses. It will also assign customs officers and create courts to collect the duties and prosecute smugglers. Grenville hoped that the Sugar Act would encourage colonists to pay taxes.
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Parliament had passed another bill that intended to raise money from the colonies. Required colonists to pay a tax on almost all printed materials, which also included newpapers, books, court document, etc. The first time that Parliament had imposed a direct tax within the colonies.
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Parliament passed another unpopular law. Required the colonies to provide housing and supplies for the British troops that were stationed after the French and Indian War. Colonists complained, but most went along with the changes because they accepted Parliament's right to regulate trade and provide for defense.
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Parliament passed the Townshend Acts, which collected new import duties on everyday items such as glass, lead, paint, tea, etc. In response of the Townshend Acts, the colonists strengthened their protests, boycotts, and street violence.
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A group of colonists threw snowballs and rocks at British soldiers guarding the Customs House. Nervous soldiers fired into the crowd, killing five colonists. The dead included Crispus Attucks, a sailor who may have been an escaped slave.
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Instead of buying the cheaper tea, colonists protested that the British were trying to trick them into paying the tax. If the East India Company sold tea directly, it would hurt the wealthy colonists who smuggled tea. Boston Patriots took matter into their own hands. They got dressed up as Indians, they boarded three Britsh ships laden with tea and dumped the tea into the habor.
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In addition to closing the port, the acts forced colonists to house British troops and allowed British officals to be tried in Britain for crime committed in the colonies. They rejected the idea that the Britsh could shut down trade and change colonial governents at will.
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War erupted at Lexington and Concord, two country towns west of Boston. Gage provoked the battles by sending troops to arrest Hancock and Adams in Lexington and to seize Patriot weapons stockpiled in Concord.
