So Parliament passed the Sugar Act, which was a tax on sugar, wine, indigo (a type of color dye) … In a paper presented to the Massachusetts assembly in May 1764, Adams denounced the Sugar Act as a denial of the colonists’ rights as British subjects that reduced them to the status of slaves. The Act set a tax on sugar and molasses imported into the colonies which impacted the manufacture of rum in New England. While the Sugar Act lowered the tax on non-British molasses by half from the earlier Act, it added over 50 goods to the taxable products list. The act also imposed new taxes on several other imported foreign goods while further restricting the export of certain highly demanded commodities such as lumber and iron that could legally be shipped from the colonies under the Navigation Acts. If molasses is boiled down to a solid, sugar results, hence the Sugar Act. 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. Privately they would smuggle or bribe officials.. Colonists claimed taxes should originate with the people +7 more terms. Sugar Act 1764-- first 1.5 pence/gallon, then 6 pence so he made it 3 pence which could pay and still turn a profit How did the colonists push back against Greenville's new reforms? Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/the-sugar-act-definition-and-history-5076532. "What Was the Sugar Act? The Sugar Act of 1764 attempted to curb the smuggling of sugar and molasses in the colonies by reducing the previous tax rate and enforcing the collection of duties. Match. It was passed 5 April 1764 and went into effect 29 September 1764. However, this was not done because of a colonial invasion. The colonists were undergoing a period of financial difficulties and their resentment was due to both the economic impact of the Sugar Act as well as the constitutional issue of taxation without representation. Proposed by British Prime Minister George Grenville, the Sugar Act amended the Molasses Act of 1733, which had actually reduced revenues by encouraging smuggling. The Government of Great Britain, Parliament, needed money to pay off the cost of the Seven Years War, known in the colonies as the French and Indian War. The British Stamp Act of 1765 caused more widespread and violent protests throughout the colonies, eventually leading to the first battle of the American Revolution on April 19, 1765. The Sugar Act and the Stamp Act were some of the laws that led to anger, resentment, dissension and ultimately revolution in Colonial America - the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) and the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain. The Sugar Act technically reduced a tax on sugar and molasses imported into the colonies, but enforced existing Navigation Acts. Definition and Examples, Continental Congress: History, Significance, and Purpose, American Revolution: The Stamp Act of 1765, Committees of Correspondence: Definition and History, The History of British Taxation in the American Colonies, The Root Causes of the American Revolution, The Most Important Inventions of the Industrial Revolution. Well, you can either cut how much you're spending (start carpooling instead of spending money on gas, for instance), or you can increase how much you're bringing in (maybe by asking for a raise). This measure had been proposed by sugar growers in the British West Indies who wanted Parliament’s assistance to force the colonies to buy their produce, not the less expensive sugar of the competing Spanish … Description of the 1733 Molasses Act Write. The Molasses Act of 1733 had called for a tax of sixpence per gallon on non-British sugar and molasses imported into the North American colonies. What are your options? STUDY. The Sugar Act actually decreased the customs duty from sixpence a gallon down to threepence, in order to make the tax more palatable; however it also imposed new duties on a range of other goods imported from non-British sources: wine, cloth, … The Sugar Act of 1764, also known as the American Revenue Act, was an act passed by the Parliament of Great Britain on the American colonies in order to raise revenue. ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/the-sugar-act-definition-and-history-5076532 (accessed February 23, 2021). Smuggling became so dangerous that their dwindling profits from rum no longer covered the taxes on molasses. The Sugar Act, also known as the American Revenue Act of 1764, was the first direct taxation en forced by the Crown in a series of causes leading up to the American Revolutionary War. 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. By reducing the markets to which the colonies could sell while restricting their access to money needed to buy goods manufactured in Britain, the Sugar Act, along with the other associated Revenue Acts, greatly limited the colonial economy. Before the Sugar Act, there was also the Molasses Act of 1733, which taxed a minimum of six pence per gallon of molasses. Imagine you are in charge of your household budget, and you realize you are going to come up a little short this month. The new Sugar Act replaced the Molasses Act of 1733, reducing by half the colonial tax on molasses, but stepping up enforcement of the tax. The ships then took the slaves to the sugar plantations in the West Indies. The combined effects of the Sugar Act also greatly reduced the colonies’ ability to trade with Portugal, the Azores, the Canary Islands, and the French West Indies, their main customers of lumber, iron, flour, cheese, and farm produce. The Sugar Act occurred when parliament decided to make a few adjustments to the trade regulations. Gravity. a law passed by the British Parliament in 1764 raising duties on foreign refined sugar imported by the colonies so as to give British sugar growers in the West Indies a monopoly on the colonial market. It caused immediate economic hardship. The Sugar Act not only affected molasses but … The Sugar Act is also known as the American Revenue Act or the American Duties Act. Some sugarcane was grown on sugar plantations in the  colonies but the majority was imported from the West Indies. Purpose of the Sugar ActThe Purpose of the Sugar Act of 1764 was to: Sugar Act - Background InformationThe Sugar Act was mainly about the manufacture of rum which was a highly lucrative product. 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. Also in 1764, Prime Minister George Grenville issued the Sugar Act to raise revenue and attempt to end the smuggling of sugar and molasses from the French and Dutch West Indies. While the effects of the Sugar Act had been felt mainly in New England, the Stamp Act attacked the pockets of nearly every adult in all 13 colonies. The Stamp Act imposed a direct tax on the colonists by requiring that virtually all printed materials produced in the colonies, such as court papers, newspapers, pamphlets, almanacs, even playing cards and dice, be printed only on paper made in London and bearing an embossed British revenue stamp. The Molasses Act of 1733 was never fully enforced because of the British policy of Salutary Neglect, which basically allowed British officials to turn a 'blind eye' to trade violations. (2020, September 2). The Sugar Act of 1764 was the first law enacted after the French and Indian War intended to help restock Great Britain’s coffers. At this time, however, protest to the Sugar Act by the general public had remained limited. See the fact file below for more information on the Sugar Act: The earlier Molasses Act of 1733, which had imposed a tax of six pence per gallon of molasses, had never been effectively collected due to colonial resistance and evasion. The British Parliament passed the Sugar Act in 1764. The goal of the act was to raise revenue to help defray the military costs of protecting the American colonies at a time Great Britain's economy was saddled with the huge national debt accumulated during the French and Indian War (aka Seven Years War). They believed that the colonists should help pay this cost since much of the fighting was done to defend them. A year later… Read More The Sugar Act was one of a series of taxes that divided Great Britain and its colonies in America. The Sugar Act also imposed new taxes on other imported products, such as wine, coffee, and fabric, and strictly regulated the export of lumber and iron, then the most demanded commodities produced in the colonies. The Sugar Act of 1732 was seen as detrimental to Colonial America and was one of the laws that sewed the seeds of dissension and rebellion in the colonies when it was more rigorously enforced. Spell. Test. These struggles against “taxation without representation” stirred the colonial passions that led to the firing of the “shot heard round the world” in the Battles of Lexington and Concord that marked start of the American Revolution on April 19, 1765. Under the Molasses Act colonial merchants had been required to pay a tax of six pence per gallon on the importation of foreign molasses. The Sugar Act of 1764 was the first internal tax that fell directly on the goods and services in the colonies. The Sugar Act of 1764 reduced the duties on molasses and refined sugar to three pence, and it also empowered customs officers to act more aggressively in collecting duties and employ privately owned warships to intercept and seize ships suspected of smuggling. The Sugar Act signaled the end of colonial exemption from revenue-raising taxation. The background to the Sugar Act dates to one of the series of Navigation Acts. Correctly sensing that the British people had reached their taxpaying limit, Grenville looked to the American colonies, which had so far paid relatively little in taxes but were promised full compensation for their contribution to the war effort. The Sugar Act of 1764 levied taxes on imports to British colonies in North America. The Molasses Actwas hated by the colonists because it placed a tax of six pence per gallon on molasses imported from any country outside the British Empire. Definition and History. … The Sugar Act was referred to as the American Revenue Act, which was also American Duties Act. Original Text and Words of the 1764 Sugar Act, History of the 13 Colonies and the laws & taxes that sparked rebellion against the British, The definition and purpose of the 1764 Sugar Act and the cry of "No taxation without representation!". “Can it be possible that the duties to be imposed and the taxes to be levied, shall be assessed without the voice or consent of a single American in Parliament?” Otis asked, adding, “If we are not represented, we are slaves.”, In these words, Otis had offered the doctrine from which the colonists would draw inspiration over the next decade of protest and resistance that led to the American Revolution. That would change drastically a year later, when the British Parliament passed the Stamp Act of 1765. The purpose of the act was to tax the importation of molasses from the West Indies, similar to the previous act, but now it was actually going to be enforced by the … The American Revenue Act of 1764, so called Sugar Act, was a law that attempted to curb the smuggling of sugar and molasses in the colonies by reducing the previous tax rate and enforcing the collection of duties. Details About the Sugar Act This Act passed on April 5, 1764. The Sugar Act of 1764 was a law enacted by Britain to increase British revenues by preventing the smuggling of molasses into the American colonies and enforcing the collection of higher taxes and duties. The parliament decided to scrap the 1733 legislation and replace it with a new bill: the Sugar Act, passed in April 1764. It was passed by the British Parliament in April 1764 to raise funds. This virtual form of government-endorsed piracy and sudden, often overly zealous enforcement of duty collection policy, angered American merchants both in the colonies and in England, many of whom had become wealthy from smuggling. When Lord George Grenville took over as British prime minister in April 1763, Parliament found itself without the money it needed to protect the foreign colonies while repaying its massive debt from the recently concluded French and Indian Wars. Among all the regions of the colonies, the New England seaports were especially hurt by the Sugar Act. The 1764 Sugar Act amended the existing 1733 Sugar and Molasses Act. Trade was sharply reduced with ports where lumber, flour, cheese, and assorted farm products had been sold. The Currency Act of 1764 extended these limitations to all the colonies. He also revised the old Molasses Act of 1733 into the Sugar Act of 1764. (Molasses, created from the boiled juice of sugar cane, is thirty percent sugar. 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 War. The Navigation Act of 1733, also known as the Molasses Act, levied heavy taxes on sugar from the West Indies to the American colonies in an attempt to force colonists to purchase the more costly sugar from Britain. Indeed, Otis has been credited with coining the American Patriot’s famous rallying cry of “Taxation without representation is tyranny.”. A painting depicting political protest by the 'Sons of Liberty' known as the Boston Tea Party on December 16, 1773 in Boston, Massachusetts. The 1764 Sugar Act amended the existing 1733 Sugar and Molasses Act. Effect of the Sugar Act of 1764The effect of the Sugar Act on the colonists was the economic impact as well as the constitutional issue of taxation without representation. It was an update to the Molasses Act of 1733, which charged a six pence per gallon tax on any molasses imported from non-British colonies. The First Sugar Act (Molasses Act): 1733 … Definition and History." Definition and History." Definition of the Sugar ActThe 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. The Sugar Act, properly known as the American Revenue Act, was enacted by Parliament on April 5, 1764. Parliament responded by passing a series of colonial tax laws now known as the Revenue Acts, made up of the Sugar Act 1764, the Currency Act of 1764, the Stamp Act of 1765, the Townshend Acts of 1767, and the Tea Act of 1773. Longley, Robert. In 1764 Parliament passed the Sugar Act, with the goal of raising 100,000 pounds, an amount equal to one-fifth of the military expenses in North America. The Molasses … British Prime Minister George Grenville proposed the Sugar Act as a way for Britain to generate revenue to protect its foreign colonies and pay its debts from the French and Indian Wars. ThoughtCo, Sep. 2, 2020, thoughtco.com/the-sugar-act-definition-and-history-5076532. The Sugar Act of 1764, also known as the American Revenue Act or the American Duties Act, was a modification of the already existing Molasses Act which was passed in 1733 and renewed every five years afterwards. The English policy of Salutary Neglect that was in effect from 1607-1763 encouraged the colonists to violate the law by bribing customs officials and smuggling. Forced to charge more for their rum, many colonial merchants were priced out of the market by the British West Indies, which now controlled the market. Sugar Act of 1764. The Sugar Act lowered the duty to 3 pence, in an effort to make the British sugar industry competitive without completely wrecking the mainland export … Profiting from reduced expenses thanks to their vast supplies of molasses, the islands of the British West Indies prospered at the expense of the New England seaports. The Sugar Act of 1764 The Plantation Act, also known as the Sugar Act, was the first of the Revenue Acts to be passed, on April 5, 1764. Had this act ever been enfo… The American Revenue Act of 1764, so called Sugar Act, was a law that attempted to curb the smuggling of sugar and molasses in the colonies by reducing the previous tax rate and enforcing the collection of duties. The West Indies sent molasses to the colonies who used the molasses to manufacture rum. The Act set a tax on sugar and molasses imported into the colonies which impacted the manufacture of rum in New England. It provided for a strongly enforced tax on sugar, molasses, and other products imported into the American colonies from non-British Caribbean sources.The act was also called the Plantation Act or the Revenue Act. Rum is made from molasses, a by-product of sugar production. Mercantilism and the Sugar ActThe Sugar Act was part of the policy of Mercantilism that favored England by controlling trade, especially in respect of the import of sugarcane from the West Indies. Sugar Act - British Laws and TaxesDiscover interesting  facts and information about the Taxes in the 13 Colonies, including the Sugar Act, which was imposed on the colonists of Colonial America by the British government via parliament. While American colonial leaders were all too aware that Britain’s imposition of the various Revenue Acts represented unfair taxation without representation, it was their economic impact, rather than their constitutional issues, that served as the main focus of the colonists’ protests. It was actually a renewal of the largely … British Laws and Taxes in the Colonies - The Declaration of Independence, The article is a great history resource for kids, Social Studies Homework help for kids on the Sugar Act of 1764, Definition of the Sugar Act of 1764 - Meaning - Law - Duty - Tax - Effects - Laws - Reaction - Taxation - America - Facts - Great Britain - Definition of the Sugar Act - Colonists - England - English - 1764 - Colony - 13 Colonies - History - Kids - Facts - Fun - Interesting - Facts - Kids - Summary - Definition - Interesting - Definition of the Sugar Act - Information - Info - Events - Short - Kids - Children - Simple - Easy - Studies - US - Definition of the Sugar Act of 1764 - United States - America - USA - English - Definition of the Sugar Act - British - Years - Social Studies Teaching resource - Social Studies - History - 1764 - Teachers - Kids - Events - Colonial America - Sugar Act of 1764. Great Britian : Parliament - The Sugar Act : 1764 An act for granting certain duties in the British colonies and plantations in America, for continuing, amending, and making perpetual, an act passed in the sixth year of the reign of his late majesty King George the Second, (initituled, An act for the better securing and encouraging the trade of his Majesty s sugar colonies in America;) … What Was the Sugar Act? The Navigation Act of 1733, also known as the Molasses Act, levied heavy taxes on sugar from the West Indies to the American colonies in an attempt to force colonists to purchase the more costly sugar from Britain. The Sugar Act. PLAY. Sugar Act of 1764. jjwitt31. Rewarded with a share of the profits from the sale of the seized ships and cargo, the “privateer” captains and crews of these warships were encouraged to attack and detain ships at random. Previously, the Sugar and Molasses Act was in place from 1733. Formed in the summer of 1765, the Sons of Liberty burned the stamps and raided the homes and warehouses of wealthy British stamp distributors and tax collectors. In doing so, the act marked a change in British colonial policy—an empire-shaking change—from commercial and trade regulation only, to taxation by Parliament. The Sugar Act Titled The American Revenue Act of 1764 On April 5, 1764, Parliament passed a modified version of the Sugar and Molasses Act (1733), which was about to expire. Learn. In the words of one historian, it brought a “new realism to the regulation of foreign trade in America.” In his own report on the Sugar Act, James Otis struck at the heart of the issue of the colonists—still British subjects—being taxed without a voice in Parliament. Amid the torrent of protests, riots, and stamp burnings that followed, colonists effectively nullified the Stamp Act. This measure amended the Molasses Act of 1733, which had imposed a 6 pence import duty on foreign molasses. Longley, Robert. Major Events That Led to the American Revolution, What Is Colonialism? Citing these facts, Grenville convinced Parliament that the colonies should—for the first time in their history—contribute to the costs of supporting and defending them. Although the colonist felt that their basic rights were being taken away, the law … noun American History. However, instead of generating revenue, the duty resulted in most molasses shipments being smuggled into the colonies. The tax on sugar and molasses, coupled with Britain’s drastic anti-smuggling enforcement methods, greatly harmed the emerging colonial rum industry by giving British West Indies sugarcane planters and rum distillers a virtual monopoly. Sugarcane plantations required cheap labor - slaves. There was an earlier Sugar Act that established a foundation for the act of 1764. It first tax on the American colonies established by the British Parliament. Terms in this set (7) The Sugar Act, put into place by the British government, was enacted on April 5, 1764. The parliament endorsed an updated version of the Sugar and Molasses Act (1733) on April 5, 1764, which was close to terminate. "What Was the Sugar Act? While all but the staunchest British loyalists among the American colonists objected to the Sugar Act, the formal protest against it was led by former British tax collector Samuel Adams and provincial legislative member James Otis, both of Massachusetts. law that attempted to curb the smuggling of sugar and molasses in the colonies by reducing the previous tax rate and enforcing the collection of duties The Sugar Act of 1764 : Guided by Prime Minister George Grenville, Parliament enacted the Sugar Act in 1764. lboris. (Dupuy, 1963) The British government passed a series of acts over the course of thirty years or so that made the American colonists increasingly angry. This article on the Sugar Act in Colonial America provides fast facts and information about the effects of these laws and taxes. Molasses is also a key ingredient in the production of rum). In the American colonies, the Sugar Act was especially harmful to merchants and consumers in the New England seaports. If it makes you feel better, governments have the same troubles as you an… The Sugar Act was repealed in 1766 and replaced with the Revenue Act of 1766, which reduced the tax on molasses imports, British or foreign. They would publicly claim his freeform would ruin the pre-existing industries. The Sugar Act was passed by the Parliament of Great Britain in 1764 and was one of many Acts that aimed to raise money from citizens living in the British colonies. British Prime Minister George Grenville proposed the Sugar Act. 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. In August 1764, just three months after Samuel Adams and James Otis had published their scathing reports listing the ills of the Sugar Act, several Boston merchants agreed to stop buying non-essential luxury products from Britain. WEBSITE: http://www.teachertube.com George Grenville Prime Minister of Great Britain sings a familiar and catchy tune about the Sugar Act of 1764. Flashcards. The Sugar Act, also known as the American Revenue Act, was a revenue-raising act passed by the British Parliament of Great Britain in April of 1764. Additionally, the new Act included stricter enforcement and regulation with many new … Created by. The Act contributed to the start of the American Revolution. The Sugar Act of 1764 amended the existing Molasses Act of 1733, which had imposed a hefty duty of six pence (about $.07 USD) per gallon on molasses—the key ingredient of rum—imported into the colonies from the non-British West Indies. The Sugar Act of 1764. Triangular Trade and the Sugar ActThe establishment of the 13 Colonies, with their surplus of raw materials, made it possible for Great Britain to engage in highly lucrative trading via the Triangular Trade routes across the Atlantic. Ships from England traded goods for slaves in Africa. Rum distilling slumped and exports dropped. The Sugar Act reduced the tax … Longley, Robert.