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The Navigation Act
Immediately after the cessation of the French and Indian war British prime minister George Grenville ordered the royal navy to begin enforcing the old navigation acts. This act required colonists to export certain key goods, such as tobacco, only to Britain. -
The Sugar Act
The British just fought the French Indian war and was in great debt. Furthermore the British parliament passed the sugar act, which actually reduced the tariff colonist would have to pay on sugar, but it increased enforcement. The sugar act place an excise tax on sugar and molasses, which made goods with this more expensive. The colonist were absolutely opposed to paying these taxes. The colonial resistance was swift and intense. The British reaction was to let the sugar act vanish. -
The Quartering Act
In 1765 parliament passed the quartering act, which required residents of some colonies to feed and house British soldiers serving in America. These acts outraged the colonists, who believed the taxes were unfair and not right. Many question why the British was needed in North America after the war was over. -
The Stamp Act
The stamp act was the first direct tax on the American colonies. Every legal document had to be written on a special kind of stamped paper, showing proof of payment. The colonists reacted not how the British wanted them to. They enacted widespread boycotts. They did not hesitate to harass tax collectors or publish names who did not cooperate. The pressure on parliament by business-starved British merchants was too great to bear. The stamp act vanished the next year but the uneasy peace remained. -
The Declaratory Act
The declaratory act made no such distinction. "All cases whatsoever" could surely mean the power to tax. Many assemblymen waited anxiously for the issue to resurface.
