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Proclamation of 1763
The Proclamation line (1763) was a line created by the British Government that does not allow the colonists to settle in any of the land gained from the French and Indian Wars. This may have made the colonists feel trapped or like they are being limited, especially because the British government had allowed them to do their own thing for a few generations at the least. -
Sugar Act
The Sugar Act (1764) was a modified version of a previous act by the name of the Sugar and Molasses Act (1733) which sought out to end illegal trade of sugar and molasses by increasing the Navel presence and involvement in customs. This Act forced the colonists to get their sugar and molasses from the British, as the produced was cheaper without the enforced taxes. -
Currency Act
The Currency Act was created in order to completely abolish the colonial currency that the British colonist had set up during the period of salutary neglect before the French and Indian Wars. This poses many issues to the colonists, as they would not have enough pounds, shillings, or pence to last very long under this act. -
Stamp Act
The Stamp act was created by the British Parliament in efforts to regain the lost income from the French and Indian Wars. This act put in place heavy taxes for everyday items such as paper, licenses, dice, playing cards, etc. These taxes required the pound system that Britain was using and because the colonists had created there own currency system that was abolished by the Currency Act, they simply did not have enough British currency to sustain themselves. -
Quartering Act 1765
This Act required the colonists to house British soldiers within a barrack provided by the colonists themselves. If they ran out of space in the barracks the soldiers would take refugee in shops for ale, wine, and even in inn houses. To the colonists, this was incredibly harsh as the soldiers did not have to ask for the consent of the owners of the places they would stay, and had the full ability and right to barge in and stay whenever they wanted. -
Declaratory Act
This act was made in conjunction with the repeal of the Stamp Act. While repealing the Stamp Act, the Declaratory Act gave Parliament the same authority to tax the colonies as they had with British citizens. This only made the problems that occurred during the Stamp Act tenfold, and further confirmed for the colonists that Britain did not care about their political maturity. -
Townshend Act
The Townshend Act was an act that put in place more taxes on the items imported to the colonists. The items that were taxed included china, glass, leas, paint, paper, and tea. The British sent troops to enforce the laws, which even further increased tensions between the colonists and the British. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was a riot that occurred on March 5, 1770 when the tensions between the Colonists and British soldiers finally erupted. The riot ended in 5 dead and 6 wounded. -
Boston Tea Party
After Britain had repealed all of the tax acts that had been passed in the past, they made sure to keep a tax on tea as it was a huge source of revenue for them. In a boycott/protest against the taxes, thousands of colonists gathered once three ships; Dartmouth, Beaver, and Eleanor, stocked with tea had arrived to the Griffin's Wharf port. The colonists then boarded the ships and threw the tea into the water. -
Intolerable Acts
The Intolerable Acts was a series of five laws passed by the British Parliament that aimed to punish the colonists for the events in the Boston Tea Party, and was a major player in the following events of the American Revolution. -
Quartering Act of 1774
This act allowed the royal governors in Britain to choice the buildings and homes that where chosen for quartering. This gave the colonists even less control over what goes on even in their own cities. -
Quebec Act
The Quebec act gave the power of the Quebec government to a governor and council in response to the British's attempt to make Canada a part of the British Empire. This was seen as a threat to the British Empire and was a major cause of the American Revolution.