ABSTRACT
Advocates of all arguments regarding the politics and constitutionalism of empire relied heavily on history to make their various cases. The unknown person or people who published Two Papers on the Subject of Taxing the British Colonies in America in 1767 went a step further, supporting their case for parliamentary taxation by publishing historical documents dating from 1739. The precise provenance of the Two Papers is obscure, but they reflect views Keith expressed in other publications. The author begins by outlining the Spanish and French threats to British trade and territorial expansion, citing on the latter Keith’s own 1718 report as governor. It was specifically to finance armed forces in North America for which Keith proposed a stamp tax. The author took care to mention too that the tax should be ‘by Act of Parliament ’.
