Welcome to U.S. history!
Did those settlers pay taxes?
(Taxation an issue leading to the American
Revolution)
They paid taxes, if not direct, still indirect they did. The
Navigation Acts took care of such. Most goods produced came from England and were taxed
some place. As an outgrowth of Mercantilism the Navigation Acts were designed to expand
England's trade. Such Acts provided England with raw materials, as well as colonial
markets for English manufacturers. The threat to English shipping by the Dutch led to the
Navigation Act of 1651. The First Navigation Act of 1660 gave England monopolies of
certain colonial produce, including tobacco and sugar. In 1663 shipment from English ports
was required of all foreign goods bound for the American colonies. The Molasses Act of
1733 forced the colonist to buy more expensive British West Indian sugar and led to an
increase in smuggling.
The Concise Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia states, "The
Navigation Acts also caused colonial unrest prior to the American Revolution. Their
adverse effects were felt in Ireland, in Scotland (before 1707), and in the Channel
Islands, which did not share England's favored position. The acts were repealed
1849."
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last updated
02/19/07
