Imperial Tension: 1761 - 1766

Over five years, disagreements within the British Empire become harder to contain. New restrictions on settlement, trade, currency, and taxation bring Parliament's authority more directly into colonial life. Arguments move from courts and pamphlets into streets and colonial assemblies.

The Stamp Act draws the sharpest response. Crowds resist its enforcement, delegates from nine colonies meet together, and Benjamin Franklin carries the dispute before Parliament. Britain repeals the tax, but Parliament simultaneously declares its authority over the colonies unchanged.

The immediate dispute ends. The larger one does not.