One of the heaviest taxes after the 7 Years’ War was the Stamp Act. The Stamp Act required all official documentation to be written on a specially designed, stamped paper. “Deeds, wills, marriage licenses — contracts of any sort — were not recognized as legal in a court of law unless they were prepared on this paper” (ushistory.org, 2015). Although not technically a taxation, the British also put into law the Quartering Act. The Quartering Act required colonists to feed and house the British troops. These acts led to the boycott of British goods. The boycott was effective and the British repealed the Stamp Act a year later in 1766 (ushistory.org, 2015). These were not the only taxations made on the colonist though. Just after the Stamp Act, Charles Townhend convinced the House of Commons to begin taxing many imported items to include tea. Along with the taxation, customs was implemented allowing for enforcement of the taxes and punishing smugglers. Many of the taxes were once again repealed to further boycotts but the taxes on tea remained. The customs house became a scene of a major iconic part of US history. On March 5, 1770, a mob of townspeople gathered and began to throw rocks at the guards. The British began to fire on the crowd and killed five colonists. One of the patriots killed was Crispus Attucks; a former slave that was given his freedom (ushistory.org, 2015). The Boston Massacre inevitably began to escalate more actions between the colonists and the British. With the tax on tea still remaining and the British East India Company almost bankrupt, a British Lord gave a monopoly to the East-Indie Co for tea trading in the American Colonies. The monopoly actually lowered the price of tea, but the colonists saw this as a plot to force the payment of taxes. The colonists would threaten the ships forcing them to turn around before
One of the heaviest taxes after the 7 Years’ War was the Stamp Act. The Stamp Act required all official documentation to be written on a specially designed, stamped paper. “Deeds, wills, marriage licenses — contracts of any sort — were not recognized as legal in a court of law unless they were prepared on this paper” (ushistory.org, 2015). Although not technically a taxation, the British also put into law the Quartering Act. The Quartering Act required colonists to feed and house the British troops. These acts led to the boycott of British goods. The boycott was effective and the British repealed the Stamp Act a year later in 1766 (ushistory.org, 2015). These were not the only taxations made on the colonist though. Just after the Stamp Act, Charles Townhend convinced the House of Commons to begin taxing many imported items to include tea. Along with the taxation, customs was implemented allowing for enforcement of the taxes and punishing smugglers. Many of the taxes were once again repealed to further boycotts but the taxes on tea remained. The customs house became a scene of a major iconic part of US history. On March 5, 1770, a mob of townspeople gathered and began to throw rocks at the guards. The British began to fire on the crowd and killed five colonists. One of the patriots killed was Crispus Attucks; a former slave that was given his freedom (ushistory.org, 2015). The Boston Massacre inevitably began to escalate more actions between the colonists and the British. With the tax on tea still remaining and the British East India Company almost bankrupt, a British Lord gave a monopoly to the East-Indie Co for tea trading in the American Colonies. The monopoly actually lowered the price of tea, but the colonists saw this as a plot to force the payment of taxes. The colonists would threaten the ships forcing them to turn around before