Why was molasses important the colonies?
Why was molasses important the colonies?
Molasses was a major trading product in the Americas, being produced by enslaved Africans on sugar plantations on European colonies. The good was a major import for the British North American colonies, which used molasses to produce rum, especially distilleries in New England.
What 3 things did the Sugar Act do?
He began by revising the Molasses Act of 1733, due to expire in December 1763. 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.
Why was the Molasses Act unfair?
Under the Molasses Act colonial merchants had been required to pay a tax of six pence per gallon on the importation of foreign molasses. But because of corruption, they mostly evaded the taxes and undercut the intention of the tax — that the English product would be cheaper than that from the French West Indies.
How long was the Molasses Act in effect?
five years
The act continued in force for five years and was renewed five times. As the Molasses Act was about to expire, George Grenville, the first lord of the treasury and chancellor of the exchequer, replaced it in 1764 with the Sugar Act.
What did the Molasses Act do?
Molasses Act, (1733), in American colonial history, a British law that imposed a tax on molasses, sugar, and rum imported from non-British foreign colonies into the North American colonies.
What was the outcome of the Molasses Act?
The Molasses Act of 1733 was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain (citation 6 Geo II. c. 13), which imposed a tax of six pence per gallon on imports of molasses from non-British colonies. Parliament created the act largely at the insistence of large plantation owners in the British West Indies.
What was the purpose of the Molasses Act?
The act specifically aimed at reserving a practical monopoly of the American sugar market to British West Indies sugarcane growers, who otherwise could not compete successfully with French and other foreign sugar producers on more-fertile neighbouring West Indian islands.
How did the Sugar Act affect colonists?
The Sugar Act required increased enforcement of smuggling laws. Enforcement was carried out by the Royal Navy and British customs officials. The increase in enforcement reduced smuggling but disrupted local business and made the post-war economic depression in the colonies worse.
What happened after the Molasses Act?
The purpose was make traders pay the lower tax instead of smuggling and enforce its collection with the 1763 Hovering Act. The following year the Molasses Act was replaced by the Sugar Act setting the tax at 3d.
How did the Molasses Act end?
The End of the Molasses Act The replacement for the Molasses Act did not raise taxes. Instead, it lowered taxes on imported molasses from six to three pence per gallon. Grenville hoped that would discourage smuggling, although smuggling continued until the tax was lowered to one pence in 1766.
What was the Molasses Act for kids?
The Sugar Act was aimed at ending the smuggling trade in sugar and molasses from the French and Dutch West Indies. It was also meant to provide increased income for the British Empire, which had been enlarged following the French and Indian War. Molasses is a syrup made from sugar.
Is the Molasses Act the same as the Sugar Act?
Actually a reinvigoration of the largely ineffective Molasses Act of 1733, the Sugar Act provided for strong customs enforcement of the duties on refined sugar and molasses imported into the colonies from non-British Caribbean sources.