The British Empire and the Colonial Crisis After the costly Seven Years’ War, occurring from 1754 to 1763, between the British Empire and the French and their Indian allies, the British Parliament needed a way to gain revenue to pay for the war because they were in debt. This costed a lot because the British government needed to pay for the necessities of war, such as an army and a navy. To do this, the British Parliament decided to issue taxes and passed many acts. Acts such as the Stamp Act, Tea Act, and Sugar Act had terms to them, as well as having adverse effects on the colonists living during the mid to late eighteenth century, mainly the years 1754 to 1775. One of the ways to raise revenue was through the Tea Act of 1773. Americans …show more content…
The hope of doing this was to lower the price of East India tea as well as the duty below the price of the smuggled Dutch tea, therefore motivating Americans to obey the law. This act lowered the tax on tea to entice boycotting Americans to buy it. However, the Americans did not fall for this trick because they thought this act was to help increase revenues to pay the “salaries of royal governors and judges.” (150). The Tea Act had many effects on the colonists. First of all, they did not like this taxation, causing them to think of ways to break the law. They came up with one way, which was to pressure the tea agents to resign. “Without agents, governors yielded, and tea cargoes either landed duty-free or were sent home.” (150). In November 1773, three ships containing tea arrived in Boston. The ships cleared customs, and the crews, unloaded all the cargo except for the tea because they could sense the extreme tension in the town. The ship captains wanted to leave the town due to the tension, but Governor Hutchinson would not allow them to leave without paying the tea duty. He gave them twenty days to pay. If they did not pay …show more content…
The customs service “monitored the shipping trade and collected all import and export duties.” (140). He found that the salaries that were paid to the customs service officers were four times as much as how much was collected in revenues, meaning that the British government was not making profit, but was losing money by paying these officers. The shortfall in how much was collected was mainly due to smuggling and bribery, which caused George “to insist on rigorous attention to paperwork and strict accounting of collected duties.” (140). The hardest act to enforce was the Molasses Act of 1733, which was a tax of six pence per gallon on any molasses that was imported to the British colonies from non-British sources. However, Americans that loved rum did not pay attention to this act, and continued to buy molasses from the French Caribbean islands. The Sugar Act cut the duty on the Molasses Act in half, from six pence to three pence, which made it more attractive for shippers to obey the law now. The Sugar Act also raised the penalties for smuggling, as well as toughening enforcement policies. The Sugar Act allowed all British naval crews to act as impromptu customs officer, meaning that they could board all suspicious ships and seize anything that violated the Sugar Act. Smugglers that were caught without proper
Within the colonies, economic elements influenced the British to generate taxes on the colonists in order to bring in additional revenue to cover their war debt. Some of these taxes that were put in place include the Sugar Act, the Stamp Act, the Tea Act. All three of these acts forced the Americans to pay a tax on everyday goods. Whereas Americans viewed the new tax on sugar and other imports as a burden and violation of their rights, for the British, the taxes were a modest imposition necessary to pay for the cost of eliminating the French from North America and administering the colonies (Keene, 101-102). As a result of their two different views on the taxes, the Americans and the British were set up to have conflicts. Because of their
In 1773, Parliament aroused the Americans by passage of the Tea Act. This act, designed to help the East India Company by making it cheaper for them to sell tea in America, was interpreted by Americans as a subtle ploy to get them to consume taxed tea. In Boston, in December 1773, a group of men dumped the tea into the harbor.
The eighteenth century had faced many problems with colonist around the world from New York to Boston, the soldiers coming to Boston and how people reflected their anger off the soldiers. Though Great Britain had many different colonies from all around the world, it was expensive to control all the colonies, though in the middle of the Seven Years’ War which occurred during 1756-1763. The French and Indian war, had been fought against the French over competing against colonist interest. Great Britain thought that the colonist in North America should to pay for the War, so in June 1767 parliament had passed the Townshend acts to raise the funds needed. The legislation who levied taxes on tea, paper, paint and glass, laid bed very unpopular in American colonies who considered themselves as Britons, the colonist disagreed the notion of the taxation without representation. Some colonist thought they should start to boycott the good in
Britain's idea to solve its massive debt was to tax and make money from the American colonies under their control. George Grenville a British Minister came up with the Sugar Act to help with tax revenue. This Act taxed six pence per gallon molasses and lowered the molasses prices imported by colonists. The Sugar Act took away the colonist’s
On May 10 of 1773, the Tea Act was passed by the British Parliament. The act did not place a new tax on tea, but it did help the Parliament and one tea company improve their revenue. The East India Tea Company was losing their profits to other companies who illegally sold tea from other countries. The East India Tea Company had too much unsold tea, which caused them to almost go bankrupt. The British Parliament was upset that the British company was losing money because of other companies from different countries smuggling tea, so Parliament passed the Tea Act. After the Tea Act was passed, the East India Tea Company controlled the trade of tea. Illegal and legal tea companies lost money because of the East India Tea Company. Even
However, the colonists were used to the policy of Salutary Neglect which meant that the colonists didn’t have to pay taxes to Britain. When Britain’s policies changed, it took the colonists by shock because there was no warning, and they believed that they had no right to be taxed. Britain’s reason for taxing the colonists was to make up for the debt they got into from defending them in the French and Indian War (Seven Years’ War). Not only did their tax policies change, but they also tried to control the colonist’s trading routes as well. Britain established acts such as the stamp act, sugar act, and tea act to overall get more money and resources from the
Although the tea act reduced the price of tea for America, colonists remained outraged at the audacity of Parliament to impose on the purchase of tea. Colonists, feeling bogged down as a result of the taxes the crown
After the end of the French and Indian War in 1763 the American people had taxes placed on them by the British. The British Parliament claimed that by placing the taxes they were defending the colonies for the Americans. During the twelve years following the war, the British enacted a numerous amount of taxes that allowed them to raise revenue from the American economy. This taxing of the American people hurt the American economy and started to push the American colonists toward an independence movement so they could have a free economy. Over the course of the twelve-year period there were six acts enacted to take money from the American economy.
“The die is now cast. The colonies must either submit or triumph.” ~King George III The Tea Act, sometimes known as the Boston Tea Party, has a lot to say about tea. It is referred to by John Adams as "the Destruction of the Tea in Boston." The night, December thirteen seventeen seventy three. Colonists disguised themselves as Mohawk Indians. Seventeen Million Pounds of unsold tea was dumped mid day. With the colonists throwing over the tea off the ships, King George decided to punish the Bostonians.
The French and Indian War, also known as the Seven Year War, was an important event in history, because of the tension the war created between Britain and the American Colonies began to go downhill, ultimately leading up to the American Revolution and the colonies desire to be independent from Britain. The French and Indian War altered the relationship between the American Colonies and Britain positively as well as negatively, due to Britain’s inactiveness in the American Colonies. However, the war caused many political and economic changes in the colonies, such as the British government imposing taxes to eliminate the war debt Britain had gained due to the war they had participated in. Therefore, by imposing the new tariffs and multiple new
Raising Revenue was the final piece of reform for the plan to pay off Britain's debt. George Grenville convinced Parliament to pass several acts in the 1760s. This was to stop the Crown's ability to interfere with the economy. (Schultz, 2013).These revenue acts signaled the end of salutary neglect. The sugar act was the first. This was a tax cut on the sugar and molasses that were brought into the colony from non-British colonies in the west indies. The sugar act did reduce the assessment on sugar, but it also increased the enforcement of tax collection. Other items that were taxed were indigo, pimento, spices, coffee, and some wines. This was a direct source of revenue for Britain.
The Tea Act and lack of help from government only caused more resentment towards the British. In 1767, the British Parliament placed duties on several items imported to America. Many colonists considered the taxes illegal and decided to not pay them by boycott. The government stopped all the duties except for imported tea. Parliament passed the Tea Act to help get the East India Tea Company out of financial trouble. This act allowed the company to sell tea in America for a much lower price. Three ships came into the Boston Harbor with 342 chests of tea without planning to pay the middleman tax to the store owners, which allowed them to make some profit due to the high taxes already placed. The colonists were outraged. The governor of Massachusetts rejected the efforts made by the colonists to prevent the tea being unloaded until the full tax was paid to them and they were allowed to buy their tea at the same price as usual. The government leaders did not want the three ships to leave Boston until the tea was unloaded
With the Seven Years’ War (French and Indian War) complete, the British thought they would be at peace. The common thought was to prosper from the colonies by making them pay certain taxes based on products they imported or even exported. The American colonists and British policymakers were having major disagreements in the period of 1763-1776. The taxed colonists were resenting the British Parliament and started small protests in the area. The common disagreements were over the levied taxes, which started with the sugar, currency and stamp act, followed by the Townshend Duties and then the Tea Act which tipped the scales making most despise the British Parliament’s actions. This turned some of the colonists against the British which then
The British East India Tea company sent tea to the colonies and sold it at low prices. British officials placed a tax on the tea and felt the colonists wouldn’t mind paying the tax if the tea was cheap.
Tea crates were being sent in and out. While this was happening all the colonists that were paying taxes, were also paying for most shipments and for the tea to be going to the parliament. For them to be enjoying the tea while the colonists were paying for it and the expenses were so high and the tea in stores were so high as well because it was so popular. The Parliament became selfish because once they sold the tea in stores it went to them as well and so no one bought it.