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 enacted on April 5, 1764, in order to help reduce the staggering national debt incurred during the French and Indian War and to help pay for the continued presence of British troops in the colonies to defend from any further attacks.