Road to Revolution

In 1763, with the British victory over France in the Seven Years’ War (which began in North America as the French and Indian War), Great Britain controlled— in addition to the thirteen American colonies—Canada, Florida, and all the lands east of the Mississippi River. It also had massive debts, incurred in large part in the defense of that empire, and so the English Parliament looked to the American colonies as a source of revenue. The American Revenue Act (also called the Sugar Act) expanded various import and export duties and created additional courts and collection mechanisms to strictly enforce trade laws.