Timeline by Jessica Pittman

George Grenville received approval to replace the Molasses Act with the Sugar Act in 1764. The Sugar Act dropped the set rate of 6 pence per gallon to 3 pence per gallon on French molasses. This act was intended to stop trade between the colonies and the Dutch, French, and Spain. It also greatly affected New England and Boston with their production of rum. This act led the Boston Merchants to boycott the British Luxury Imports and work harder to find a way to be less dependent on the British.

The currency Act was created by George Grenville. The act was put in place to ban American colonies from using paper money as a legal tender. A lot of people used local currency which was worth less than the British currency. The Currency Act made sure that merchants could not pay with paper money, raising the wealth and profits of Britain. This act was viewed as an attempt for British to gain control of the colonies monetary policies.

Grenville created the Stamp Act hoping it would raise £60,000 per year. This money would be put to keeping the British troops in America. The Stamp Act would require a stamp on all printed items in the colonies. This act was the first new tax the colonist held a protest about. The Sons of Liberty also formed a political group to protest against the new act.

Parliament passed the Quartering Act of 1765 requiring the colonial government to provide barracks and food for British troops. The British saw the act has a chance to avoid the big costs of sending their soldiers home and have a chance to collect taxes. This angered the colonist who were not happy about being under British rule. The Quartering Act was one of the major acts that contributed to the American Revolution.

The British parliament passed the Declaratory Act to please imperial reformers and hard-liners. This acts was made to reaffirm Parliaments full power and authority to make laws for the colonies. This act was not really noticed but is an important act that led to the revolution. This act was just like the Irish Declaratory Act, and leaders did not see that until later on.

Charles Townshend created the Townshend Acts. The Townshend Acts were both fiscal and political goals. It raised taxes on paper, paint, glass, and tea. The Townshend Acts also included the Revenue Act of 1767. The acts were very unpopular and caused the colonist to be very resistant. Eventually causing the British to send down more troops.

On March 5, 1770, a group of British redcoats fired into a crowd and killed 5 people. The court absolved the soldiers from the case but Boston's Radical Whigs called the event a massacre. This massacre helped unite the colonists against Britain. The massacre was a turning point in the American revolution, because it helped the Americans see their desire for independence.

The Royal Governor Hutchinson was determined to land the tea and collect tax in the colonies, but artisans and laborers were ready to foil his plan. On December 16, 1773, the groups of laborers and artisans disguised themselves as Indians and boarded three ships. They broke open 342 chests of tea and threw them into the harbor. This angered the King and made him pass the Coercive Acts which led us right into the American Revolution.

Parliament passed the Tea Act in 1733. This act was put into place to help the East India Company which was suffering when the colonist began boycotting British tea. British intended for the act to make the tea cheaper to entice the colonist to drink it. The colonist turned it down because they knew it would give British companies a monopoly on the tea trade. This act led to the Boston Tea Party, which was a turning point in the revolution.

In 1774, Parliament passes four Coercive Acts to force Massachusetts to pay for the tea. The Massachusetts Government Act, the new Quartering Act, the Justice Act, and the Quebec Act were the four Coercive Acts. The Massachusetts Government Act annulled the colony's charter and prohibited most town meeting; the new Quartering Act mandated new barracks for British troops; the Justice Act allowed trials for capital crime to be transferred to other colonies or to Britain; and the Quebec Act allowed the practice of Roman Catholicism in Quebec. Colonist were angered by the Coercive Acts and saw it has proof of Parliaments plan to control American affairs. The reason for these acts were to isolate Massachusetts from the other colonies and stop the rebellion; however, it made the colonies come together to help Massachusetts and form the First Continental Congress to talk about resisting British rule in the colonies.