Life in the colonies differed in many ways compared to life in England. For over 100 years the colonists lived undisturbed by the English. During that time they began developing their own ideas and learning how to manage their own affairs without the British involvement. After the French and Indian War King George III became very aware of how lenient he was toward the colonies and decided that the colonies were the best way of earning some money after a long expensive war.
One of the first taxation that the British passed through parliament was the Sugar Act in 1764. The sugar trade between the colonies and the French and Spanish West Indies had been very profitable for the colonies. This act made the tax on sugar from the French and Spanish West Indies much higher than it would be from the British West Indies. The British hoped that by enforcing the Sugar Act the colonies would buy from the British Islands or …show more content…
Although this Act made the price of British tea lower than any other there was still a tax on the tea. The colonists, on the principle of no taxation without representation, refused to buy the tea. Sam Adams called for an American boycott of tea. The Sons of Liberty enforced the boycott, often with violence against offenders. On December 16, 1773, there were three tea-laden cargo ships from England at anchor Boston Harbor. Several hundred Bostonians, disguised as Indians, raided the vessels and dumped 342 cases of tea into the water. This event is known as the Boston Tea