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Sugar Act

American

noun

American History.

a law passed by the British Parliament in 1764 raising duties on foreign refined sugar imported by the colonies so as to give British sugar growers in the West Indies a monopoly on the colonial market.

Example Sentences

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More important, the Sugar Act of 1764 reduced the duty on foreign molasses to an affordable threepence a gallon and tightened collection procedures.

From Textbooks • Jan. 18, 2018

Grenville ignored their objections, however, and the Sugar Act began to raise a modest annual revenue of £20,000.

From Textbooks • Jan. 18, 2018

Amid these concerns, the Sugar Act was coming up for renewal in Congress.

From Slate • Mar. 21, 2016

The Sugar Act curtailed smuggling, angering merchants, and imposed stricter enforcement.

From Textbooks • Dec. 30, 2014

Soon assemblies in New York and North Carolina joined the chorus, protesting against the Sugar Act.

From "Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science" by Marc Aronson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023