ter on rice, molasses, and furs would become part of the
list. This was part of the mercantilism theory that colonies are there to support the home
country with raw materials that it later can make into goods that can be traded.
4. Lastly, all goods shipped or imported must first stop at an English port.
This was to ensure what was coming in and gave jobs to English dock workers. It also
supplied money to the English treasury in the form of import taxes on the goods.
These Acts one of the very few that actually benefited most of the colonists. By
restricting trade it made sure that all the import taxes stayed in England and the colonies
received money for shipping the raw materials that could be used to bring more business.
However, there were a few that resented the Acts. Many colonial merchants
disliked the trade restrictions and many started to smuggle the goods to and from many
countries. At first, King Charles II did little to try to stop the colonists but, eventually he
punished the colony that most of the smuggling was going on. He started to pressure the
colonists with troops and taxes but it failed so the King made Massachusetts and royal
colony under direct control of the crown. This started the first rebellions on taxes and
The next of the major tax Acts was the Sugar Act enacted by Parliament in 1764.
This act was prompted by prime minister George Grenville because of an increase in
smuggling and evasion of import taxes. The Sugar Act did three things to the colonists:
1. The Sugar Act halved the tax paid on foreign-made molasses. This was
because the Parliament and Grenville thought that if they lowered taxes it would stop
smuggling because the tax for the imported goods was lower than the fine if you were
2. The Sugar Act also placed taxes on certain imports not taxed before.
This was to help pay off some of the debts that Britain had because of recent...