<Tr> <Td> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> <P> The Sugar Act, also known as the American Revenue Act or the American Duties Act, was a revenue - raising act passed by the Parliament of Great Britain on 5 April 1764 . The preamble to the act stated: "it is expedient that new provisions and regulations should be established for improving the revenue of this Kingdom...and...it is just and necessary that a revenue should be raised...for defraying the expenses of defending, protecting, and securing the same ." The earlier Molasses Act 1733, which had imposed a tax of six pence per gallon of molasses, had never been effectively collected due to colonial evasion . By reducing the rate by half and increasing measures to enforce the tax, the British hoped that the tax would actually be collected. These incidents increased the colonists' concerns about the intent of the British Parliament and helped the growing movement that became the American Revolution . </P> <P> The Molasses Act 1733 was passed by Parliament largely at the insistence of large plantation owners in the British West Indies . Molasses from French, Dutch, and Spanish West Indian possessions was inexpensive . Sugar (from the British West Indies) was priced much higher than its competitors and they also had no need for the large quantities of lumber, fish, and other items offered by the colonies in exchange . Sometimes colonists would pay Molasses Act taxes because they were rather low depending on where they resided and how much money they had . In the first part of the 18th Century, the British West Indies were Great Britain's most important trading partner, so Parliament was attentive to their requests . However, rather than acceding to the demands to prohibit the colonies from trading with the non-British islands, Parliament passed the prohibitively high tax on the colonies on molasses imported from those islands . If actually collected, the tax would have effectively closed that source to New England and destroyed much of the rum industry . Instead, smuggling, bribery or intimidation of customs officials effectively nullified the law . </P>

Why was the sugar act of 1764 important