The Sugar Act of 1764 was one of the first taxes imposed on the colonies. Known as the Revenue Acts of 1764, it was intended to help offset the cost of the French and Indian War. British Parliament argued that the colonies, especially in New England, benefited from Britain's protection and were becoming rich off of the lax trade policies that had existed previously.

Leading up to the Sugar Act, the Molasses Act had a high tax on the importation of molasses and sugar into the colonies. The colonists then began to smuggle these goods into the Americas from non-British imports. Parliament quickly noticed this and, with the Sugar Act, cut the tax rate for molasses. The hope was that the colonists would then find the trading with the crown much cheaper than the smuggling.

What it primarily did to the colonists was increase taxes on other goods, such as lumber, coffee, and iron. This obviously was met with great frustration and evolved to an outright boycott of British luxury goods. Merchants and smugglers in the colonies began to lose business and were harshly treated if caught. The Sugar Act essentially was the beginning of the frustrations that boiled over into the American Revolution.