Stamp Act

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See the original Stamp Act of 1765 in the United Kingdom Parliamentary Archives

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History & Society

Stamp Act

Great Britain [1765]

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

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Stamp Act warning

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Category: History & Society

Date:: 1765

Key People:: George Grenville

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Stamp Act, (1765), in U.S. colonial history, first British parliamentary attempt to raise revenue through direct taxation of all colonial commercial and legal papers, newspapers, pamphlets, cards, almanacs, and dice. The devastating effect of Pontiac’s War (1763–64) on colonial frontier settlements added to the enormous new defense burdens resulting from Great Britain’s victory (1763) in the French and Indian War. The British chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir George Grenville, hoped to meet at least half of these costs by the combined revenues of the Sugar Act (1764) and the Stamp Act, a common revenue device in England. Completely unexpected was ...(100 of 427 words)

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