Interesting Facts

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. Here are some interesting facts about the Sugar Act:

The Molasses Act was set to expire in 1763 but the British government though that the demand for sugar and rum would only increase.
The focus of the Sugar Act was to discourage colonial merchants and manufacturers from smuggling non-British goods to avoid taxes imposed by Parliament.
The Sugar Act increased the number of items that would be taxed when they were imported to the colonies, but it actually reduced the tax on molasses and sugar from 6 pence per gallon to 3 pence per gallon.
Strict enforcement of the Sugar Act successfully reduced smuggling, but it greatly disrupted the economy of the American colonies by increasing the cost of many imported items, and reducing exports to non-British markets.
Americans protested the Sugar Act primarily because of its economic impact, but for some "no taxation without representation" became a rallying cry against Parliaments right to tax the colonies.

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