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Proclamation of 1763
The Proclamation of 1763 reserved the western territory between the Allegheny Mountains, Florida, The Mississippi River, and Quebec for use by Native Americans. This attempted to stop the colonies' westward expansion and force them out of the land they had already begun to occupy in the west. The colonies saw this decision as a complete disregard on Britain's behalf for their right to settle western lands. However, this proclamation wasn't effectively enforced so it didn't change much. -
The Sugar Act
The Sugar Act outlawed the importation of rum and lowered the tax placed on molasses while also creating new taxes on other luxury items such as silk and coffee. The British enforced these taxes strictly on the colonies, seizing smugglers of taxed goods. In response, the colonies protested "taxation without representation" and British merchants protested the new taxes as well since they could have an adverse effect on their businesses. Due to protests, the Sugar Act was later modified. -
The Currency Act
The Currency Act made it so the colonial currency which each colony produced and used individually(due to the lack of traditional British currency there) was no longer valid currency. This put a serious burden on the colonial economy as they were forced to use British currency which there was very little of. The colonists protested this act in response. -
The Stamp Act
The Stamp Act created taxes on essentially all paper products the colonists used including playing cards, wills, warrants, newspapers, etc. The penalty for tampering with the stamps used on these products was death and there was a forfeit of £10. As this was one of the worse acts the negative response from the colonists was greater. More people became involved in the protest including the London merchants due to how the taxes affected the British economy which led to the Stamp Act's repeal. -
The Quartering Act of 1765
The Quartering Act required colonists to provide British troops with a place to stay and food and water provisions. They were also required to pay taxes on the services they provided these soldiers. Due to these unnecessary taxes, they protested this act. -
The Declaratory Act
The Declaratory Act stated that Parliament had the authority to make laws in the colonies no matter the circumstances. This was more specifically referencing their ability to tax the colonies no matter who or what stated otherwise. Many colonists were celebrating the repeal of the Stamp Act which they saw as a victory and were too busy to take into account what this new act meant for them. However, others were incredibly angry as this could mean more acts would be enacted later. -
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The Boston Massacre
As a result of the Townshend Acts colonists began to refuse imported goods. Due to this, when customs officials in Boston came to collect their payment and were were refused said payment, fighting broke out. British troops were sent to aid in the protection of the customs officials and due to their presence the fighting worsened and 3 Boston colonists were killed. As a result colonists used the massacre in their propaganda to make the British look bad. -
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The Quartering Act of 1774
The Quartering Act of 1774 required colonists to provide British troops with a place to stay and food and water provisions. While this act was very similar to the original Quartering Act of 1764 it was different in that the royal governors were allowed to find homes and buildings to quarter soldiers in, instead of the local colonial legislature. This was disliked by the colonists as it was part of the Intolerable Acts but did not face much opposition alone. -
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The Intolerable Acts
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The Quebec Act
The Quebec Act extended the boundaries of Quebec, restored French civil law, and gave the French religious freedom. The main issue with this act was that extending the boundaries of Quebec threatened to block colonial expansion to the north and northwest which the colonists were very unhappy with.
