• Being part of the British Empire, Colonial governments were organized the same way as England’s governmental organization.

• The control of civil affairs rested with the colonists through their representatives.

• The colonies held the power to resolve local issues.• After the shift in power in England from the Crown to

Parliament, the Privy Council was reviewing all laws passed in the colonies.

• The first Acts of Trade and Navigation in 1651,1660 and 1663 introduced the concepts concerning the colonies relationship with the Empire.

• The restrictions of trade was based on an enumerated list of items which grew over a long period of time.

• Shipping items on the enumerated list were less burdensome than we might initially suppose• Americans and English shared general ties of

blood and language • Duties charged on commodities that were largely

re-exported were remitted entirely or in large part• Bounties were paid on some of the enumerated

articles• It was permissible to ship certain items directly

from one colony to another for the purpose of furnishing essential supplies

• The laws could be evaded through smuggling.

• In 1699, a law made it illegal to export colonial wool, wool yarn and finished wool products to any foreign country or to other colonies.

• After 1750, pig and bar iron were admitted in England duty free, and the colonial manufacture of finished iron products was expressly forbidden.

• In 1733 the Molasses Act was the only trade law flaunted.

• 1700, New England had traded primarily with the British possessions in the West Indies.

• New and rapid changes in the old colonial policy led to the first crisis being mainly caused by economic origins.

• In 1763, the English victory over the French in the effort to change taxation in the colonies through the Seven Years’ War

• The Sugar Act of 1764 reduced the rate of tax on molasses per gallon

• Although the Stamp Act was repealed, England maintained its right to tax the colonies

• The Declaratory Act of 1766 affirmed the right of Parliament to legislate all matters concerning Americans

• George Grenville dismissed and replaced by Charles Townshend.

• The Boston Massacre was a signal event leading to the Revolutionary War.

• By late 1769, American imports had declined to one-third of their normal level.

• The value of lost English sales in the colonies exceeded one million in 1768 and 1769 combined.

• In 1770, all the Townshend duties except the duty on tea were repealed.

• In 1771, trade was resumed and a new level of prosperity was reached.

• The English East India Company was experiencing financial difficulties.

• Parliament granted a loan of public funds and also passed the Tea Act of 1773 to handle tea sales in a new way.

• The new Tea Act allowed the East India Company to ship tea directly to the colonies elimination the British duty and reducing handling costs.

• Smugglers of Dutch tea were now undersold. • Tea in the port towns was sent back to England or

destroyed in various ways—the most spectacular of which was the Boston Tea Party.

• The Intolerable Acts passed in the early summer of 1774.

• In effort to populate the new country in the interest of trade form the English merchants, the frontier was extended.

• The Crown and the Parliament saw that it was time for more control over the frontier• First, the British felt it was wise to contain the population

within the seaboard area, where the major investments had been made and political control would be easier

• Second, the fur trade was now in control under the British

• Third, English landowners were purchasing lands in great tracts

• The king issued the Royal Proclamation of 1763 which closed off the frontier to colonial expansion. • Governors could no longer grant patents to land lying west of the

rivers that flowed into the Atlantic. Only the king could grant patents to land.

• Fur trade was under control that no trader could cross the Allegheny Mountains without permission from England.

• In 1768, the line was shifted westward.• In 1774, British actions had evolved into permanent policies

• A royal proclamation tightened the terms on which land would pass on private hands. Grants were no longer free but had to be sold at public auctions.

• The passage of the Quebec Act in 1774. It changed the boundaries of Quebec to the Ohio River in the East and the Mississippi River on the West.

• The act destroyed western land claims (Mississippi, Connecticut, and Virginia)

• Fur trade was to be regulated by the governor of Quebec• Many colonist viewed the act as theft

• Not all colonist suffered from the new land policy. Rich land spectators found the new regulations restrictive but not ruinous.

• Farmers of old that established agricultural areas would benefit in two ways• The competition would be less• Labor would be cheaper because it is harder for a laborers to obtain

their own lands• Before 1763, the colonists had been free to do what they pleased. • The Royal Proclamation of 1763 resulted in land policy suddenly

becoming less flexible• Territorial governments were placed entirely in the hands of British

officials, and trials there were conducted without juries• The British land policies were adopted by the federal government after

American independence was achieved.• The Currency Act was also adopted• By 1775, the colonies had matured economically to where

independence was feasible.

• Work Cited

• Gary M. Walton & Hugh Rockoff . “Thee Crises and Revolt.” History of the American Economic 2005:106-120