The Sugar Act of 1764 prohibited the import of foreign rum and imposed duties on molasses, wines, silks, coffee and other luxury items. As the Act was enforced ruthlessly, it led to protests by merchants in legislatures and town meetings. Soon the Currency Act was passed that insisted on colonies repaying the debt only in gold or silver. It was a huge burden on the colonial economy. The Quartering Act of 1765 required the colonies to pay for the cost of keeping British troops in America. The Stamp Act (1765) required that many printed materials in the colonies be produced on stamped paper produced in London, carrying an embossed revenue stamp.

The American colonists protested against all the above taxes arguing that they had to pay taxes for policies in which they had no say. The protests occurred at different levels of society. At the top, delegates from the colonies assembled and called for a boycott of trade with Britain Until the taxes were withdrawn: This apart, groups calling themselves “Sons of Liberty” sprang up in all the colonies in 1765 and 1766. The Sons of Liberty acted like a political party and instilled a new political awareness among many ordinary Americans.

The preamble of the Sugar Act provided the slogan ‘No Taxation without representation’.