The Sugar Act of 1764-The 1st law passed by British Parliament to raise taxes in the colonies. It taxed sugar and molasses from non-British sources. Sugar and molasses were used to make rum, a popular alcoholic beverage. The colonists made lots of money exporting rum to other countries.

The Stamp Act of 1765-required colonists to pay a tax, represented by a stamp, on papers, documents, and playing cards. The tax was to pay for a large British army force in the colonies. The tax had to be paid in British money, not colonial money. Colonists reacted by protesting, and they even attacked tax collectors and British public officials. Colonists came up with the phrase, “not taxation without representation” from this tax.

The Townshend Act of 1767-In 1767, Parliament passed this tax to pay for governing the colonies. This was a tax on glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea. This further angered the colonists, and led to the Boston tea party and the Boston massacre, which fueled the American revolution.

Intolerable Acts of 1774-Britain instituted a set of laws after the Boston Tea Party.
1.Closed Boston Harbor
2. Replaced local elected officials with British officials.
3. Allowed British officials charged with capital crimes to be tried in England or another colony.
4. The Quartering Act, which allowed British troops to be placed in colonials’ homes and unoccupied buildings.