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Difficulty: EasyBritish Taxation Policies and Colonial Resistance

"That from and after the first day of November, one thousand seven hundred and sixty-five, there shall be raised, levied, collected, and paid unto his Majesty... For every skin or piece of vellum or parchment, or sheet or piece of paper, on which shall be ingrossed, written, or printed... a stamp duty..."
— British Parliament, Stamp Act, 1765

Which of the following best describes the primary goal of the British Parliament in passing the tax described in the excerpt?

  1. To raise revenue to pay off imperial debts from the Seven Years' WarAnswer
  2. B
    To punish the American colonies for the Boston Tea Party
  3. C
    To strictly enforce existing mercantile trade regulations and end smuggling
  4. D
    To promote the growth of local colonial manufacturing and free enterprise

Answer

To raise revenue to pay off imperial debts from the Seven Years' War
The correct answer is correct because the British national debt doubled during the Seven Years' War (1756–1763). Parliament passed the Stamp Act of 1765 as the first direct tax on the colonists to raise funds for maintaining British troops in America and servicing that debt.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the stimulus
The stimulus is an excerpt from the Stamp Act of 1765, which levied a direct tax on paper goods in the American colonies.
Identifying the act and its date provides the necessary historical context.
2
Relate the act to its historical context
Following the British victory in the Seven Years' War in 1763, the British Empire faced high debt and the ongoing cost of protecting the newly acquired frontier lands.
This links the specific tax policy to broader imperial developments.
3
Determine the primary parliamentary goal
Parliament sought to make the colonies contribute directly to the costs of their own defense and empire administration, leading directly to the Stamp Act.
This identifies the correct historical motivation behind the act.

Key Concept

British Taxation Policies and Colonial Resistance
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Topics

British Taxation Policies and Colonial Resistance

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