Observations on Several Acts of Parliament
In Observations on Several Acts of Parliament, the economic dangers of the strengthened Navigation Acts are spelled out by a group of Boston merchants. They argue that if the colonies suffer great economic hardship through their decreasing trade, particularly with Spain and Portugal, the losses would also be felt in Great Britain owing to the decreased colonial consumption of English-manufactured products. Although the colonial requests for a reduction in the duty on sugar products and for the repeal of the Stamp Act were heeded, the British Parliament replaced the current taxes with new duties under the Townshend Acts, and expanded the lower duty on sugar to include imports from the British sugar islands. It was becoming increasingly apparent that the British mercantilist policy was not designed to be beneficial for the American colonists. In Observations, the merchants argue that their small profit margins would be eliminated altogether by the increase in duties and taxes, which would lead to Boston's financial ruin.
