What was the effect of the Currency Act of 1764?

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Passed by Parliament on September 1, 1764, the act extended the restrictions of the Currency Act of 1751 to all 13 of the American British colonies. It eased the earlier Currency Act's prohibition against printing of new paper bills, but it did prevent the colonies from repaying future debts with paper bills.



Similarly, it is asked, what were the effects of the currency act?

The Currency Act of 1764 therefore prohibited the issue of any new 'Bills of Credit' and the re-issue of existing currency by the American colonists. The colonies suffered a constant shortage of 'hard currency' (silver and gold) with which to conduct trade. There were no gold or silver mines in the American colonies.

Furthermore, who started the Currency Act? Virginia, for example, issued £20,000 worth of currency in 1755. In 1759 the British ministry began to urge the Virginians to address the problem on their own. When the Virginia Assembly ignored calls to mend its ways, Parliament passed the Currency Act, signed into law by George III on April 19, 1764.

Beside this, what was the cause of the Currency Act of 1764?

The Currency Act. The colonies suffered a constant shortage of currency with which to conduct trade. On September 1, 1764, Parliament passed the Currency Act, effectively assuming control of the colonial currency system. The act prohibited the issue of any new bills and the reissue of existing currency.

Why is the intolerable acts so important?

Parliament replied to the "Boston Tea Party" with the five Coercive Acts of 1774. The colonists dubbed them the "Intolerable Acts." They were an important factor contributing to the American Revolution. Colonists felt that this legislation violated their rights as Englishmen and their Natural Rights as human beings.

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How did the colonists react to the currency act?

In this atmosphere Parliament passed two acts to increase the depleted income of Britain and its merchants. The Currency Act banned the colonies' printing their own paper money. But colonists insisted that without their own paper money they could not maintain vigorous economic activity.

Why were the colonists angry about the currency act?

Results of the Currency Act
Caused colonists to be unable to purchase manufactured goods from Great Britain. Alarmed the colonists by taking away their right to regulate their own financial affairs, putting Parliament in control of their banking system.

Who was affected by the currency act?

The Currency Act is one of many several Acts of the Parliament of Great Britain that regulated paper money issued by the colonies of British America. The Acts sought to protect British merchants and creditors from being paid in depreciated colonial currency.

What did colonists use for money?

Commodity money was used when cash (coins and paper money) was scarce. Commodities such as tobacco, beaver skins, and wampum served as money at various times and places. Cash in the colonies was denominated in pounds, shillings, and pence.

What was the value of the paper money printed by Benjamin Franklin?


Between 1731 and 1764 Franklin printed more than 770,000 pounds of Pennsylvania paper money—the equivalent of just over 2 million dollars. In addition, Franklin also printed Delaware paper money between 1734 and 1760 (86,000 pounds) and one issue of New Jersey paper money in 1737, in the form of 50,000 pounds.

Why did the colonists use barter rather than currency?

Introduction. A shortage of money was a problem for the American colonies. England did not supply its colonies with sufficient coinage and prohibited them from making their own. Without enough money, the colonists had to barter for goods or use primitive currency such as Indian wampum, nails, and tobacco.

When was the intolerable act repealed?

The fourth of the Intolerable Acts was the Quartering Act. This law was passed on June 2, 1774.

Why was there a shortage of hard money in the colonies?

The colonies faced a chronic shortage of hard money, which was being sent across the Atlantic to pay debts in England. To meet the shortage, they resorted to issuing their own paper money. The colonies suffered a constant shortage of currency with which to conduct trade.

How did the intolerable acts affect the colonists?

Intolerable Acts. The Intolerable Acts were punitive laws passed by the British Parliament in 1774 after the Boston Tea Party. The laws were meant to punish the Massachusetts colonists for their defiance in the Tea Party protest in reaction to changes in taxation by the British to the detriment of colonial goods.

What were the acts of Parliament?


Two 18th-century acts of the Parliament of Great Britain, known together as the Quartering Acts, ordered the local governments of the American colonies to provide housing and provisions for British soldiers. They were amendments to the Mutiny Act, which had to be renewed annually by Parliament.

What were the Townshend Acts of 1767?

The Townshend Acts were a series of laws passed by the British government on the American colonies in 1767. They placed new taxes and took away some freedoms from the colonists including the following: New taxes on imports of paper, paint, lead, glass, and tea.

How did the Sugar Act affect the colonies?

April 5: SUGAR ACT (American Revenue Act) is passed by Parliament to raise funds for the depleted British treasury and to curtail the colonists' smuggling of non-British sugar and molasses to avoid import tariffs. It decreased the tax on British sugar and molasses but increased the enforcement of anti-smuggling laws.

How did the Stamp Act lead to the Declaration of Independence?

Although resented, the Sugar Act tax was hidden in the cost of import duties, and most colonists accepted it. The Stamp Act, however, was a direct tax on the colonists and led to an uproar in America over an issue that was to be a major cause of the Revolution: taxation without representation.

What was the currency in the 13 colonies?

Bills of credit, fiat money or currency, was therefore issued in all of the 13 colonies. Cash in the colonies was denominated in pounds, shillings and pence, the same as Great Britain, but were of less value than the British pound sterling.

What did the Sugar Act tax?


Titled The American Revenue Act of 1764
On April 5, 1764, Parliament passed a modified version of the Sugar and Molasses Act (1733), which was about to expire. The Sugar Act reduced the rate of tax on molasses from six pence to three pence per gallon, while Grenville took measures that the duty be strictly enforced.

What did the Sons of Liberty do?

The Sons of Liberty was a secret revolutionary organization that was created in the Thirteen American Colonies to advance the rights of the European colonists and to fight taxation by the British government. It played a major role in most colonies in battling the Stamp Act in 1765.

What happened as a result of the so called intolerable act?

The intolerable acts were a collection of punishment that the British empire give to the Massachusetts colonist for disobeying their legislation that force the colonist to pay more Tax for the British. The closing of the port of Boston was done by the British empire to cut down the colonists' source of income.