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Treaty of Paris 1763
The Treaty of Paris officially ended the Seven Years War between Great Britain and France, which led the British to be the most powerful empire during this time period. Under its provisions France gave up all their North American colonies located east of the Mississippi River to Britain and all to the west of the river to Spain. -
The Sugar Act
The Sugar Act was an act that imposed duties on sugar and other items in order to raise money for the British treasury. Great Britain inflicted many tax acts upon the colonies due to the enormous amount of debt acquired from the war. The Sugar Act was the first of many acts placed on the colonists. -
The Stamp Act
The Stamp Act of 1765 required colonists to purchase special stamped paper for periodicals, customs documents, licenses, diplomas, deeds, and other legal forms from government revenue agents. It also stated that violators of this act would be tried in vice-admiralty courts. Many colonists were highly opposed to this act because they felt Great Britain was abusing their power. -
The Quartering Act
The Quartering Act required American colonists to supply British troops with housing and any other items they needed. This led to many protests in the colonies. -
The Tea Act
The Tea Act gave the East India Company the right to sell tea directly to Americans, and some of the duties on tea were reduced. This led to the Boston Tea Party which was a rebellious act against Great Britain. The colonists believed Great Britain was showing favoritism to a monopolistic company and also believed that the whole act was just a trick. -
The Intolerable Acts
The intolerable Acts closed the port of Boston, restructured the Massachusetts government, restricted town meetings, quartered all troops in Boston, and let British officials accused of crimes in the colonies be sent to England or Canada to be tried. This abuse of power led to the colonists' boycott of British goods and the convening of the First Continental Congress for the colonists.
