What did the Sugar Act of 1764 do?
Enacted on April 5, 1764, to take effect on September 29, the new Sugar Act cut the duty on foreign molasses from 6 to 3 pence per gallon, retained a high duty on foreign refined sugar, and prohibited the importation of all foreign rum.
What was the Sugar Act of 1764 in simple terms?
The British Parliament passed the Sugar Act in 1764. 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.
What are 3 important facts about the Sugar Act?
Facts about the Sugar Act, which was the first act passed by Parliament to raise money from the colonies….Enforcement Disrupts and Damages Colonial Trade
- The Sugar Act required increased enforcement of smuggling laws.
- Enforcement was carried out by the Royal Navy and British customs officials.
What was the cause of the Sugar Act?
The purpose of this act was to protect its sugar plantations from the more fertile lands of the French and Spanish colonies in the West Indies. A six pence per gallon of molasses was imposed on all imports.
Why was the Sugar Act unfair?
The Sugar Act was seen as unfair by the American colonists because they had no direct representation in Parliament.
How did the Sugar Act stop smuggling?
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.
Why was the Sugar Act placed?
What did loyalists think of the Sugar Act?
Even though this law angered many colonists, Loyalists supported the Sugar Act since selling their goods to England would help bring in more money to the British government. In March of 1765, as a means to save the government money, Parliament passed the Quartering Act.
What was the Sugar Act of 1764?
The Sugar Act. The Revenue Act of 1764, also known as the Sugar Act, was the first tax on the American colonies imposed by the British Parliament.
What is the Plantation 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. In the words of one historian, it brought a “new realism to the regulation of foreign trade in America.”
What was the impact of the Sugar Act on New England?
New England especially suffered economic losses from the Sugar Act. The stricter enforcement made smuggling more dangerous and risky, and the profit margin on rum, so the colonists argued, was too small to support any tax.
How much did it cost to support the Sugar Act each year?
It cost an estimated 200,000 pounds to support them each year. The Sugar Act was enacted on April 5, 1764, in order to help reduce the staggering national debt incurred during the French and Indian War and to help pay for the continued presence of British troops in the colonies to defend from any further attacks.