Events
1764
Britain begins to enforce the Navigation Act
Parliament passes the Sugar and Currency Acts
1765
Parliament passes the Stamp and Quartering Acts
Stamp Act Congress convenes in New York
1766
Parliament repeals the Stamp Act, passes the Declaratory
Act
Key People
-
George III
King
of Great Britain throughout much of the colonial period; saw marked
decline in popularity in the colonies after the French and Indian
War
-
George Grenville
Prime minister of Parliament; enforced the Navigation
Act and passed the Sugar, Stamp, Currency, and Quartering Acts
-
Sons of Liberty
Secretive groups of prominent citizens who led protests
against British taxes and regulations; influence grew in 1765 after
passage of the Stamp Act
Growing Discontentment with Britain
During the period from 1763 to 1775,
in the twelve years after the French and Indian War and before the
outbreak of the Revolutionary War, colonial distrust of Britain
grew markedly, and the emerging united national identity in America
became more prominent. In just over a decade, proud British subjects
in the American colonies became ardent anti-British patriots struggling
for independence.
Salutary Neglect
Likewise, London’s view of the colonies changed radically
after the French and Indian War. Prior to the war, Parliament barely acknowledged
the American colonists, treating them with a policy of salutary
neglect. As long as the colonies exported cheap raw materials
to Britain and imported finished goods from Britain (see Mercantilism, below),
Britain was quite happy to leave them alone. After the war, though,
the situation was radically different. By the end of the Seven Years’
War, the British national debt had climbed over 100 million
pounds, hundreds of thousands of which had been used to protect
the British colonies in America.
Mercantilism
Britain’s economy during the 1700s
was based on mercantilist theories that taught that
money was power: the more money a nation had in its reserves, the
more powerful it was. Britain and other European powers, including
France and Spain, actively sought new colonies in the Americas,
Africa, and Asia to stimulate their economies and increase their
wealth. Colonies provided cheap natural resources such
as gold, cotton, timber, tobacco, sugarcane, and furs. These materials
could be shipped back home to the mother country and converted into manufactured
goods, which were resold to the colonists at high prices.
The Navigation Acts
Immediately following the cessation of the French and
Indian War, British Prime Minister George Grenville ordered
the Royal Navy to begin enforcing the old Navigation
Acts. Parliament had passed a major Navigation Act in 1651 to
prevent other European powers (especially the Dutch) from encroaching
on British colonial territories; the act required colonists to export
certain key goods, such as tobacco, only to Britain. In addition,
any European goods bound for the colonies had to be taxed
in Britain. Although the law had existed for over one hundred years,
it had never before been strictly enforced.
Grenville and the Sugar Act
Because the French and Indian War had left Britain with
an empty pocketbook, Parliament also desperately needed to restock
the Treasury. Led by Grenville, Parliament levied heavier taxes
on British subjects, especially the colonists. First, in 1764,
Grenville’s government passed the Sugar Act, which
placed a tax on sugar imported from the West Indies. The Sugar Act
represented a significant change in policy: whereas previous colonial
taxes had been levied to support local British officials, the tax
on sugar was enacted solely to refill Parliament’s empty Treasury.
The Currency and Quartering Acts
The same year, Parliament also passed the Currency
Act, which removed devalued paper currencies, many from the
French and Indian War period, from circulation. In 1765,
Parliament passed the Quartering Act, which required
residents of some colonies to feed and house British soldiers serving
in America. These acts outraged colonists, who believed the taxes
and regulations were unfair. Many also questioned why the British
army needed to remain in North America when the French and Pontiac
had already been defeated.
