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The Plantation (Sugar) Act
The Sugar Act was enacted to increase profit from North American and West Indian sugar trade. It imposed a tax on wine, coffee, sugar, and other goods imported to the colonies. The colonists, who were already in a post-war economic depression, were outraged that the act was passed because it affected colonial merchants. Britain continued to favor this act for a while since they saw it as fair for the colonies to pay taxes after the war. -
The Currency Act
The Currency Act was passed so that Parliament could effectively assume control of the colonies’ currency system since they preferred the system based on pound sterling. This act prohibited the use of new issued bills or the reissue of currency that already existed. The colonies protested this and argued that they already had a trade deficit with England, having a hard capital shortage would only worsen it. -
The Stamp Act
The Stamp Act declared that all printed documents in America must have a royal stamp. The British created this act to raise money and pay their soldiers after the Seven Years War. American Colonists thought of this act as unconstitutional and they resorted to mob violence to intimidate stamp collectors. This was the time where the phrase “No taxation without representation” began to gain more traction as a statement to argue in protests.The Sons of Liberty formed because of this act. -
The Townshend Acts
The Townshend acts initiated taxes on lead, paints, glass, paper, silk, and tea imported to the colonies. The taxes were meant to raise revenue to pay for the expenses of governing the American colonies. Colonists heavily opposed this act and chose to boycott British goods. This act would also influence the hostility between colonists and British soldiers that would result in the Boston Massacre (1670). -
The Tea Act
This act allowed the British East India Company to sell tea much more cheaply than other tea companies but it still had to be taxed once it reached colonial ports. As a result, it undercut the business of colonial merchants, which infuriated the colonists even more. They then organized the Boston tea party where 342 chests of tea were thrown overboard and into the sea. Britain decided to shut down Boston harbor until all the chests of tea were paid for.