Equal Protection and Race........................................................................................................ 1839. Overview..............................................................................................................................
Sugar cane plantations in the colonies of the West Indies. The older Sugar and Molasses tax charged the customer a duty of 6 pence per gallon of molasses. The bribe to customs officials per gallon of smuggled molasses was 1.5p. The new Sugar Act lowered the duty to 3p per gallon.
The Sugar Act was another step in the direction of a strong British hand in colonial life. To the colonists, greater regulation of trade was not simply an economically restricting measure, but one which expanded the sphere of British involvement in the everyday activities of the colonists. The Sugar Act provided additional instances in which the writs of assistance might be employed.