Definition
Parliament passed the Sugar Act on April 5, 1764, at George Grenville's urging, and it took effect in September. It cut the duty on foreign molasses from six pence to three pence a gallon, but unlike the Molasses Act of 1733, which merchants had avoided by smuggling, it was enforced. The act also placed duties on foreign sugar and certain luxury goods, and it sent accused smugglers to vice-admiralty courts, where a Crown-appointed judge decided cases without a jury.
Why it matters on the AP exam
The Sugar Act was the first law of Britain's new policy to tax colonial trade mainly for revenue, which marked a change from earlier duties that mainly regulated trade. Colonial protest in 1764 was milder than the outcry against the Stamp Act, but merchants objected to the duties and to courts without juries, and writers such as James Otis argued that Parliament could not tax people who elected no members to it. Questions pair it with the Stamp Act and the end of salutary neglect and ask students to explain why colonists objected to Parliament's policies after 1763.
Connections
- Stamp Act: Parliament followed it in 1765 with a direct tax on printed paper
- Vice-admiralty courts: the act sent accused smugglers to these courts
- Salutary neglect: the act's collection of the molasses duty marked the end of this loose enforcement
- George Grenville: he proposed the act to help pay for the army in America