What was the main purpose of the Sugar Act of 1764 readings?
Sugar Act, also called Plantation Act or Revenue Act, (1764), in U.S. colonial history, British legislation aimed at ending the smuggling trade in sugar and molasses from the French and Dutch West Indies and at providing increased revenues to fund enlarged British Empire responsibilities following the French and Indian …
What is the significance of the Sugar Act of 1763?
The Sugar Act signaled the end of colonial exemption from revenue-raising taxation. Previous acts, such as the long-standing Navigation Acts, had been passed as protectionist measures, regulating trade to boost the economy of the British Empire as a whole.
What was significant about the sugar and Stamp Acts?
The Sugar Act was passed in 1764 and the Stamp Act was passed a year later in 1765. Both were designed to raise revenue for the British. The Sugar Act was designed to regulate commerce and trade especially in the New England region. The Stamp Act was the first direct tax on domestically produced and consumed items.
Why did the Sugar Act upset the colonists?
The act placed a tax on sugar and molasses imported into the colonies. This was a huge disruption to the Boston and New England economies because they used sugar and molasses to make rum, a main export in their trade with other countries.
What was the effect of the Sugar Act in 1764?
The Sugar Act also increased enforcement of smuggling laws. Strict enforcement of the Sugar Act successfully reduced smuggling, but it greatly disrupted the economy of the American colonies by increasing the cost of many imported items, and reducing exports to non-British markets.
Why were the colonists upset about the Sugar Act?
Many colonists felt that they should not pay these taxes, because they were passed in England by Parliament, not by their own colonial governments. They protested, saying that these taxes violated their rights as British citizens.
What are 2 important facts about the Sugar Act?
The Sugar Act reduced the amount of tax that colonists had to pay on molasses by half but increased the enforcement of the law. This made smuggling of illegal molasses from non-British territories a lot harder. The tax on molasses under the Sugar Act was 3 cents per gallon.
What was the colonists reaction to the Sugar Act of 1764?
In response to the Sugar, Act colonists formed an organized boycott of luxury goods imported from Great Britain. 50 merchants from throughout the colonies agreed to boycott specific items and began a philosophy of self-sufficiency where they produce those products themselves, especially fabric-based products.
What happened as a result of the Sugar Act?
The Sugar Act reduced the rate of tax on molasses from six pence to three pence per gallon, while Grenville took measures that the duty be strictly enforced. The enforced tax on molasses caused the almost immediate decline in the rum industry in the colonies.