The Colonial Revolution Vs The Egyptian Revolution

Parliament decided that the colonies should help pay towards the cost of the recent war debt and for future defense. The first step towards this was the Revenue Act of 1764, generally referred to as the Sugar Act. The Sugar Act was also known as “an Act with Teeth,”(Mass Historical Society) symbolizing that it was an act with depth or of importance. The Act itself was divided into two sections. First, it was intended to raise money from trade between the British colonies in America. It levied import duties on a list of raw materials including: sugar, coffee, indigo, wine, rum, lumber, and various cloths. The Sugar Act made the Molasses Act of 1733 perpetual. Although it cut the tax on molasses in half, from sixpence to threepence per gallon, to discourage smuggling and to make the tax attractive. Second, the Act revamped and reinvigorated the customs service, which managed the collection of these import duties. For the first time, colonists argued that Parliament was depriving them of a fundamental constitutional right to have these goods duty free.

A revolution, by definition, is the overthrow of one government followed by replacement with another. The American Revolution against the British during 1775 to 1783 and the French Revolution pitting the French people against their own government during 1789 to 1799 were both very important political and social turnovers. This movement towards the establishment of a constitutional government influenced political thought throughout the world. By closely examining three of the main causes of these revolutions, it is clear that although the two revolutions have their differences, the basis of cause for the revolutions have, overall, much stronger similarities.

Soon the Quartering Act was passed, directing the colonies to provide quarters for British soldiers. Americans found this oppressive because it meant that soldiers were placed in colonial homes. In 1764 Parliament passed the Stamp Act, putting a duty on most printed materials. This was a normal tax for the British as it had been going on in Britain for a long time, and it made sense that the rest of their empire would pay the same tax. This placed a burden on merchants and the colonial elite who did most legal transactions and read the newspapers. Also passed in the same year was the Declaratory Act, which stated that the colonies were subject to the will of Parliament. This made a lot of sense to the British, as Parliament was their ruling body, but, to the colonies who had become used to their own government during the years of salutory neglect, this was a direct threat to their way of life.

Rum distillers, sensing the opportunity to make a profit, imported molasses from the West Indies and made rum themselves, instead of relying on expensive middlemen. Britain tried to get in on the profit, imposing a tax in the Molasses Act of 1733, which would have cut New England’s economic output significantly. However, the act backfired; distillers smuggled molasses to avoid the tax, laying the foundation for a boycott of British goods during the American Revolution. The British, perhaps ignoring lessons learned from the Molasses Act, passed the Sugar Act in 1764, at the end of the French and Indian War. Reasoning that America should foot the bill for most of its war costs, the British “decided to strengthen and enforce the Molasses Act” (Standage 119). Americans were unhappy, and organized the Sons of Liberty to protest the tax, decrying “taxation without representation”. The British added more and more taxes, only adding flames to the fire. Americans broke under the onslaught of taxes and decided to revolt, starting the American Revolution, which had profound effects on world history. While the tax on tea was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back, and, thusly, is “associated with the start of the revolution” (Standage 120), the simmering flames of a revolution that would create one of the most powerful countries in world history started when the British imposed a tax on sugar, used to make

The Act of 1764, also known as The Sugar Act, lowered the taxes on molasses but also it had more ways to enforce the tax. In addition to the tax on molasses they taxed things such as silks, wines, and potash. The Americans were outraged with this new law. The colonists did whatever they could to ignore this new law. The British passed the Quartering Act which basically said that the American colonists have to house and feed British forces who were serving in North America. This inflamed the

In 1761 the British began to reinforce writs of assistance, laws that granted customs officials the authority to conduct random searches of property to seek out goods on which required duties had not been paid, not only in public establishments but in private homes. The next step was the Sugar Act of 1764, and it quickly became apparent that the purpose of the act was to extract revenue from America.  The Molasses Act of 1733 had placed a tax of six pence per gallon on sugar and molasses imported into the colonies.  In 1764 the British lowered the tax to three pence but now eventually decided to enforce it.  In addition, taxes were to be placed on other items such as wines, coffee, and textile products, and other restrictions were applied, this upset the colonists.  Madaras L, SoRelle J (2011) & Wood S. G. (2003)

Huge debts were owed to Great Britain for supplying the colonists with military support and supplies. To pay the dues, there was the establishment of the Stamp Act, the taxation on domestic goods and services. A tax on domestic merchandise brought even more anger to the colonists. The Sugar Act, the Townshed Duties and the Tea Act were also all introduced with the same fundamentals: applying tax on goods whether it be directly or indirectly, domestic or international. “British commercial regulations imposed a paltry economic burden on Americans, who enjoyed a rapid economic growth and a standard of living higher than their European counterparts” (McGaughy). Each act resulted in irritated colonists. Some even retaliated by tarring and feathering certain English tax enforcers living in the colonies.

Protests broke out all across the colonies, with revolts, boycotts, and even fights. British Parliament established the acts to raise revenue through trade taxes on the American colonies. The Sugar Act was established in 1764 to increase controls on non-British trading and taxed not only sugar but other materials such as; coffee, coconuts and different animals parts. The Stamp Act was established in 1765 to tax people for a royal stamp, it also taxed paper, shipping and legal documents, pamphlets, and many more. The act was not as large as other taxes, but it changed the way of Parliament authority, from trade to direct taxes on the colonies. The famous saying “no taxation without representation”,

Beginning in 1764, Great Britain began passing acts to exert greater control over the American colonies. The Sugar Act was passed to increase duties on foreign sugar imported from the West Indies. A Currency Act was also passed to ban the colonies from issuing paper bills or bills of credit because of the belief that the colonial currency had devalued the British money. Further, in order to continue to support the British soldiers left in America after the war, Great Britain passed the Quartering Act in 1765. This ordered colonists to house and feed British soldiers if there was not enough room for them in the colonist’s homes. An important piece of legislation that really upset the colonists was the Stamp Act passed in 1765. This required stamps to be purchased or included on many different items and documents such as playing cards, legal papers, newspapers, and more. This was the first direct tax that Britain had imposed on the colonists. Events began to escalate with passage of the Townshend Acts in 1767. These taxes were created to help colonial officials become independent of the colonists by providing them with a source of income. This act led to clashes between British troops and colonists, causing the infamous Boston Massacre. These unjust requests and increasing tensions all led up to the colonist’s declaration as well as the Revolutionary War.

On April 5, 1764, the Sugar Act was the first of many taxes to be placed upon the American colonies to help pay off Britain’s debt from the American Revolution. In the Sugar Act, products imported into the colonies were being taxed, such as coffee, textiles, and, of course, sugar. The colonists did not take too kindly to this, as the number of places that they could sell to was lowered, which led to the amount of money for them to buy things was decreasing, so their economy became weaker. And as they had less money to support themselves, the taxes were affecting them more than ever. In this way, the colonists became much more aware about how the British were treating them.

The act was to set to try to stop the smuggling of goods so they required captains of colonial ships to post a bond that they would deliver enumerated goods to England or pay the "plantation duty" that would be owned in England. Similar to this Act was the Woolens Act of 1699, that Forbade export of woolen cloth made in the colonies, to prevent competition with English producers. In response, they wore their own products and refused to buy from British. Become desperate they even pass the Hat Act of 1732, which prohibited exports of colonial hats. This shows how well the colonies are to adapt to the changes. There is more like the Molasses Act of 1733, which was quite simply a tax on sugar from foreign sources. Their ideology was simple to tax and regulate what they can to maximize profit and minimize the influences the colonies had to other foreign countries. By taking away their rights to sell who they want to and what they could sell. The King and Parliament believed they had the right to tax the colonies. They decided to require several kinds of taxes from the colonists to help pay for the French and Indian War. These taxes included the Stamp Act, passed in 1765, which required the use of special paper bearing an embossed tax stamp for all legal documents. Other laws, such as the Townshend Acts, passed in 1767, required the colonists to pay taxes on imported goods like tea. Similar to a monopoly. British begin the main company and the colonies the company affected by

After the French and Indian War ended in 1763, Britain had a huge debt that had to be paid. Unfortunately, the war had been a long and costly one and had taken it's toll on Britain's finances. In an effort to make up the debt Britain's Parliament began passing laws by placing taxes on goods purchased by the colonists in America. First, there was the Sugar Act in 1764, and then the Stamp Act the following year, as well as a variety of other laws enforced to get money from the colonists. Naturally, the colonists were not pleased with Britain's control and taxation. The colonists felt that they should not be held accountable for the debt and should not have to pay the taxes. The colonists felt that since Parliament was elected by people living in England and they did not take part in voting for members of Parliament then Parliament did not have the right to take their money by imposing taxes.

The passing of a series of laws regulating trade and tax, most notably the Sugar Act (1764), the Stamp Act (1765), and the Tea Act (1773) increased tension between Great Britain and its colonies in the period 1763-1776. Near the end of the French and Indian War, Great Britain was in desperate need of money to pay for their war debts. The British Parliament believed that they had a right to tax their colonies. Their legislations placed duties on certain imports that had never been taxed before. By the end of 1764, tensions heightened between colonists and imperial officials as they were disagreeing more and more about how the colonies should be taxed and governed. These feelings of dissatisfaction would soon swell into rebellion, leading to the American Revolution.

In February 2011, when the Tahrir Square movement forced President Hosni Mubarak to resign, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi became leader and president. Sisi is soft-spoken and very different from the other leaders. Mubarak held his power for almost 30 years. He was overthrown by a revolution that lacked leadership and organizational structure. In June 2012, Egypt’s first democratic Presidential election was won by Mohamed Morsi, a leader of the Brotherhood. Morsi didn’t wait for anything, he forced the retirement of the Minister of Defense, along with the leaders of the Navy, the Air Defense, and the Air Force. This move was praised by young Egyptian advocates or opponents, who saw it as a sign that Morsi was determined to reduce the Army’s

These acts had been around for a long time and caused little problems. They often benefited from these acts because although they had to buy from England, it was the most advanced industrial country and could often offer the best prices. The first tax to cause trouble in the colonies was the Sugar Act followed closely by the Stamp Act. The Sugar Act was truly just a restatement of old customs laws in an effort to raise money. The Stamp Act was a tax in which anything formally written or printed would have to be on specially stamped paper which was shipped from London. The colonists would soon pay taxes "at every stage of a lawsuit, that diplomas and deeds, almanacs and advertisements, bills and bonds, customs papers and newspapers, even dice and cards, would all be charged," (Morgan 19). The colonists reacted very violently to these taxes. They protested and boycotted throughout the nation and the British Parliament soon repealed the tax. Radicals began to proclaim the fact that there should be no taxation without representation. This meant that colonists should be represented in Parliament if they were going to be taxed by them. The British stated that every member of the Parliament was there to represent the whole Empire, not just the electors he represented. Therefore, the Americans would have no representation in Parliament. In 1773 the British decided to tax tea. They granted the British East India Company to ship their goods