Sugar and Molasses Act

Sugar and Molasses Act of March 1733 was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain (citation 6 Geo II. c. 13), which imposed a tax of sixpence per gallon on molasses from non-British colonies. Parliament passed the act largely at the insistence of large plantation owners in the British West Indies. [Draper pg. 95-96 Middlekauff pg. 63] The Act was not passed for the purpose of raising revenue, but rather to regulate trade by making British products cheaper than those from the French West Indies.

Historian Theodore Draper described British intent on the tax as it would affect the American colonies:

A large trade had grown between the New England and Middle colonies and the French, Dutch, and Spanish West Indian possessions. Molasses from the British West Indies, used in New England for making rum, was priced much higher than its competitors and they also had no need for the large quantities of lumber, fish, and other items offered by the colonies in exchange. The British West Indies in the first part of the 18th Century were the most important trading partner for Great Britain so Parliament was attentive to their requests. However, rather than acceding to the demands to prohibit the colonies from trading with the non-British islands, Parliament passed the prohibitively high tax on the colonies for the import of molasses from these islands. [Miller pg. 96-99] Historian John C. Miller noted that the tax:

Largely opposed by colonists, the tax was rarely paid, and smuggling to avoid it was prominent. If actually collected, the tax would have effectively closed that source to New England and destroyed much of the rum industry. Yet smuggling, bribery or intimidation of customs officials effectively nullified the law. [Miller pg. 96-99] Miller wrote:

The growing corruption of local officials and disrespect for British Law caused by this act and others like it like the Stamp Act or Townshend Acts eventually led to the American Revolution in 1776. This Act was replaced by the Sugar Act in 1764. This act halved the tax rate, but was accompanied by British intent to actually collect the tax this time.

ee also

*Sugar Act of 1764

Notes

Bibliography

* Draper, Theodore. "A Struggle For Power:The American Revolution." (1996) ISBN 0-8129-2575-0
* Middlekauff, Robert. "The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763-1789." (2005) ISBN 13:978 0-19-516247-9
* Miller, John C. "Origins of the American Revolution." (1943)