Following the close of the Seven Years’ War, the British Empire found themselves as victors of history’s largest war and the owners of an incredible debt. At the start of the conflict the imperial treasury saw its deficits climb from £74,000,000 to a staggering £130,000,000. To remedy these financial crisis administrators experimented with a number of new taxes and laws directed at the North American Colonists, and soon ignited a fervor that would only end with a bloody and terrible rebellion. But how strict were these taxes? And was Revolution the only possible outcome? On this episode we discuss the Sugar Act, the Stamp Act, and the power of politics.