Prior to the emergence of magazines in the early eighteenth century, information and news in Great Britain were primarily distributed through pamphlets, newspapers, and broadsides. The concept of a magazine slowly developed in reaction to new laws which sought to control political propaganda; in 1712 the government passed a Stamp Tax on each single- or half-sheet publication, nearly doubling the price of newspapers and some periodicals. Publishers seeking to avoid or pay a lower tax did so by expanding their single-sheet writings into lengthier publications, classifying them as pamphlets or journals. Many also switched their publication schedules by producing works weekly or monthly, rather than daily or semi-weekly.