ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes British attempts to tighten imperial control and increase revenue, which led to this stark reversal of political opinion. At the conclusion of the French and Indian War, American pride at being part of the British Empire was widespread. Peace with the Native Americans was concluded by 1766, but the British government decided that it was necessary to maintain an army of 8,000 men to defend the frontier. George Grenville, a Whig who became George III's chief minister in 1763, decided that a reasonable tax on sugar imported from the non-English West Indies would supply about 45,000 toward the support of the British army in America as well as improve the economic position of the English West Indies. The passage of the Stamp Act was a grave error on the part of the English government. The period of calm came to a sudden end in 1773 when Parliament passed the Tea Act.
