What did the Sugar Act of 1764 do?
On April 5, 1764, Parliament passed a modified version of the Sugar and Molasses Act (1733), which was about to expire. 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.
What is the Sugar Act in simple terms?
The Sugar Act (1764) was a tax passed by the British to pay for the Seven Years War, called the French and Indian War in America. It taxed sugar and decreased taxes on molasses in British colonies in America and the West Indies. This restricted smuggling.
Why is the Sugar Act bad?
In the American colonies, the Sugar Act was especially harmful to merchants and consumers in the New England seaports. Colonial opposition to the Sugar Act was led by Samuel Adams and James Otis, who contended that the duties imposed by the Sugar Act represented taxation without representation.
How did the Sugar Act affect colonists?
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.
What was the main purpose of the Sugar Act of 1764?
The definition and purpose of the 1764 Sugar Act and the cry of “No taxation without representation!”. The Meaning and Definition of the Sugar Act: The Sugar Act of 1764 was a British Law, passed by the Parliament of Great Britain on April 5, 1764, that was designed to raise revenue from the American colonists in the 13 Colonies.
What was the whole 1764 Sugar Act was about?
The Sugar Act of 1764 was a law enacted by the British Parliament intended to stop the smuggling of molasses into the American colonies from the West Indies by cutting taxes on molasses.
What items were being taxed in the Sugar Act of 1764?
The Sugar Act was a law passed by the British Parliament in 1764 that established a tax of three pence per gallon on foreign molasses imported by British colonial subjects. The Sugar Act also established taxes on foreign coffee, sugar, pimiento and select wines, and limited the colonists’ ability to export lumber and iron to the French West Indies.
What did the Sugar Acts of 1763 do?
Under the Navigation Acts, taxes were paid by British importers alone, rather than the colonists, and brought in just 1,800 pounds in 1763, compared with a cost of 8,000 pounds just to enforce the acts. The Sugar Act lowered the duty on foreign-produced molasses from six pence per gallon to 3 pence per gallon, in attempts to discourage smuggling.