While England found governing its colonies in America difficult, it also found it expensive. Britain had recently fought the ,French and Indian war which gave it control of Canada and much of the land east of the Mississippi. The war was very expensive for England, and it now needed more money to maintain soldiers in all these areas. In 1764, the British government decided to tax the colonists to pay a share of the costs.

The British taxed all sugar bought from the French or Spanish. The British then created the ,Stamp act requiring all newspapers and legal documents to carry a stamp purchased from the British. These taxes angered the colonists and they managed to force the British to eliminate the Stamp Act and to reduce the taxes on sugar.