Name _________________________________ Date ______________ Hour ____
British Taxes
Date
Coercive Acts
Stamp Act
Tea Act
Townshend Act
Sugar Act
Proclamation
Line of 1763
Navigation
Acts
Declaratory
Act
What the
Britain’s actions
Colonial
Act Taxed of
to Colonists
Reaction to the
Stated?
Act
Navigation Acts
In the 1600’s England practiced a system of creating and maintaining
wealth through carefully controlled trade known as mercantilism. In
order to support this system between 1650 and 1696, parliament passed
a series of laws limiting trade in the colonies; these laws were known as
Navigation Acts. In later years, these acts required all trade goods to
pass through English ports, where import taxes would be added to the
items. England claimed the acts were good for the colonists because they
helped to create a steady trade market for the colonies, but many
colonists disagreed, saying they wanted more freedom to buy or sell
goods wherever they could find the best prices. In the end, some
colonists even resorted to smuggling to trade what, when, and where
they wanted
Proclamation of 1763
After the French and Indian War, settlers started to move west into the
Ohio River Valley and beyond. The settlers began encroaching on
Native American land, which led to even more confrontations between
the British settlers and the Native Americans. Fearing that the fighting
could only continue, Parliament passed the Proclamation of 1763 to stop
the confrontations. The law stated that no colonists could settle land
west of the Appalachian Mountains, and that the colonists had to leave
the upper Ohio River Valley. The colonists were outraged that
Parliament would pass such a law, saying the order suggested tyranny
and that the land was already settled for the most part.
Sugar Act
Great Britain had won the French and Indian War, but Parliament still
had to pay for. Great Britain kept an army in the colonies to help
protect the colonists from the Native Americans, and in order to pay for
this army the Prime Minister of England asked parliament to tax the
colonists. Parliament answered by passing the Sugar Act in 1764. The
Sugar Act set duties, or taxes, on molasses and sugar imported by
colonists. Many colonists were used to having a sense of independence,
which led them to oppose to the taxes. They believed Parliament had no
right to tax the colonists without their consent.
Stamp Act
After the passing of the Sugar Act, many colonists resorted to a method
of protest known as boycotting, in which the colonists refused to buy
English items. England still kept searching for new ways to tax the
colonists. The British Prime Minister proposed and passed the Stamp
act of 1765, which required the colonists to pay for an official stamp, or
seal, when they bought paper items. Colonists who refused to buy the
stamps could be fined or sent to jail. The colonists viewed this tax as
England’s first attempt to tax the colonists directly, rather than taxing
them on imported goods. Protests in the colonies began immediately,
eventually leading to the colonists deciding to repeal the Stamp Act.
Declaratory Act
The colonists refused to pay the Stamp Act, arguing that the act was a
violation of their civil liberties. England and members of parliament
were upset that the colonists had openly challenged their authority. In
response to the colonists’ actions, Parliament passed the Declaratory
Act, stating that Parliament had the power to make laws for the colonies
“in all cases whatsoever.” The act was meant to strip away much of the
colonists’ independence, which further worried the colonists.
Townshend Acts
After passing the Declaratory Act, Parliament passed the Townshend
Acts in June of 1767. These acts place duties on glass, lead, paints,
paper, and tea. To enforce the acts, British officials used writs of
assistance, which allowed British officials to search wherever they
deemed necessary to find smuggled goods. Once again, the colonists
hated these new laws because they took power away from colonial
governments, so the colonists continued to boycott many British goods.
Tea Act
In order to reduce tension in the colonies, Parliament repealed most of
the Townshend Acts. However, they kept a tax on tea. Many colonial
merchants were smuggling the imported tea, paying no tax on the tea at
all. The British east India Company offered a solution: they said they
could sell their tea directly to the colonists for cheaper prices, allowing
them to make money and stop the colonists from smuggling. Parliament
agreed with the company and passed the Tea Act of 1773, which allowed
the British East India Company to sell tea directly to the colonists.
Many colonial merchants and smugglers feared the cheap tea would put
them out of business. In order to protest the act, on December 16, 1773,
several colonists sneaked onto a British East India Company boat,
disguised as Native Americans, and dumped 340 barrels of tea into the
Boston Harbor. This event became known as the Boston Tea Party.
The Coercive Acts a.k.a. the Intolerable Acts
The British Prime Minister was furious when he heard the news of the
Boston Tea Party. Parliament decided they needed to punish the
colonists. Therefore, in the spring of 1774, Parliament passed the
Coercive Acts. The Acts had several measures including the following:
Boston Harbor was closed until Boston paid for the tea, the
Massachusetts charter was cancelled, colonists were required to house
British soldiers, and the governor of Massachusetts was to be replaced.
The Acts were so outrageous that the colonists started to call them the
Intolerable Acts. Parliament hoped that the acts would restore order in
the colonies, but all they did was create more anger in the colonies
toward England