The Budget Used to Justify the Sugar Act That Enflamed the American Colonies, Likely Prepared for the Prime Minister, George Grenville, and His Treasury

It indicates that much of the new revenue was to come from taxes, and the British would look to America to pay them; It also authorized the great general survey of England's North American possession

The end of the French and Indian War in 1763 changed the balance of power in North America, with Britain gaining Canada and other French possessions. There were also changing boundaries: Georgia’s boundaries moved; West Florida was created; and new larger surveys needed to be undertaken. But in return for this gain, Britain found itself saddled with debts and incurring substantial expenses; its budget was stretched thin. There was a growing sentiment that the Americans should pay a healthy share of the financial shortfall, and that would lead to trouble.

To begin each session of Parliament, the King would address the assembled members and refer to  budget estimates for the coming year for the consideration of the House of Commons. It then fell to the House to grant the money required to run the country and its colonies.  Two committees were appointed to deal with the budget provisions for the year: the Committee of Supply and the Committee of Ways and Means. These committees would consider the requests, and then report to the House, which would be required to pass legislation. England was then the only major monarchy in which the King could not essentially have his way with the budget; he must, in time honored tradition, obtain the approval of the country as represented in the House of Commons. But, of course, the colonies were not represented in that body.

In March of 1764, the King’s Treasury Department requested the status of funding for the King’s initiatives. Document signed, March 5 1764, being the budget of the English government, an official copy, almost certainly prepared for the Treasury and its head, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Grenville.  This incredible document not merely represents the budget for the entire year of the most powerful nation at the time, but it shows the structure of its administration of North America, as well as its efforts to map and understand its possessions in the immediate aftermath of the French and Indian War.  

Below is a small sampling of some of the things it funded.  The entire budget anticipates expense of £7,820,615. Perusing it we can see what a task it was to maintain control over such a vast empire, and that it required great administrative skill and also an intimate knowledge of its various parts.

The Creation of East and West Florida, £11,400

Great Britain established West and East Florida out of land taken from France and Spain after the French and Indian War. As the newly acquired territory was too large to govern from one administrative center, the British divided it into two new colonies separated by the Apalachicola River. British West Florida's government was based in Pensacola; and the colony included the part of formerly Spanish Florida which lay west of the Apalachicola, plus parts of formerly French Louisiana. It thus comprised all territory between the Mississippi and Apalachicola Rivers, with a northern boundary that shifted several times over the subsequent years.  This document funds the creation of a “civil establishment of West Florida” and a corresponding entry for East Florida.  Each state received £5,700.

Mapping America after the war, £1,818

During the French and Indian War, Samuel Holland made surveys, prepared plans and gave engineering advice, all under the command of legendary Brigadier-General James Wolfe. Holland had drawn the charts of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and Saint Lawrence River in preparation for the attack on Quebec.  Holland was later employed in surveying the settled parts of the Saint Lawrence River valley and in drawing up new plans for a citadel in Quebec after the French siege was lifted. In 1762, Holland took his maps to London where he submitted them to the Board of Trade, proposing a survey of all British possessions in North America in order to facilitate settlement, a proposal which was accepted in 1764. On March 6, 1764, the day after this document was created, Holland was appointed Surveyor-General of North America. On March 23, he received instructions to survey all British possessions north of the Potomac River, which included Isle Saint-Jean, the Magdalen Islands and Cape Breton Island, because of their importance for the fisheries.

This document funds this post-war effort of “general surveys of his Majesty’s dominions in North America.”

Supporting slave export from the coast of Africa, £39,000

The Gold Coast had long been a major bone of contention between European nations, all seeking to take advantage of the natural and human resources of West Africa. The Portuguese first moved into the area and built forts on the coast to allow them to trade with the local tribes who were keen to supply their defeated enemies as slaves. They discovered that the nearby Ashanti had access to gold from the interior. This attracted the attention of the English who brought home a ship of gold as far back as 1553. Gold, ivory and slaves would turn the coast into a magnet for traders eager to make their fortunes.

In 1672 the Royal African Company was created with rights to monopoly access to English markets at least. The RAC built forts at Dixcove, Sekondi, Accra, Whydah and other places, besides upgrading Cape Coast Castle. The African Company of Merchants would later take over the monopoly and would further streamline the efficiency of the slave trade. At its height, 10,000 slaves a year were being exported from the area.

This document maintains and supports the British forts and settlements on the coast of Africa (£20,000).

The capture of Senegal from the French (in above African expenditure)

The capture of Senegal took place in 1758 when a British military expedition landed and captured the French settlement of Saint-Louis during the Seven Years’ War (or French and Indian War, as it is called in America.  Along with attacks against Canada, the West Indies and Philippines, the capture of Senegal demonstrated the new global reach of the Royal Navy and the increasingly global nature of conflicts between the competing European powers who were battling for dominance and control of resources on several continents – as a consequence historians have labeled it the first 'world war'.  Samuel Touchet was a London merchant from whom the government borrowed money to fund this expedition.  This document includes funds to repay him for that effort.   The legislation reads, “To enable his Majesty to make good to Samuel Touchet of London merchant, all the expense he has incurred fitting out several vessels employed in the late successful expedition for the reduction of the French forts and settlements in the river Senegal…”

Building the British Museum, £2,000.

The British Museum was established in 1753, largely based on the collections of the physician and scientist Sir Hans Sloane. The museum first opened to the public on 15 January 1759.  In 1757 King George II gave the Old Royal Library and with it the right to a copy of every book published in the country, thereby ensuring that the Museum's library would expand indefinitely. This is the earliest document funding the British Museum’s operations we have found.  

Expanding the colony of Georgia, £4,031

The boundary of this state changed, moving farther South, and efforts to grow this colony and create a more stable infrastructure continued.  £4,000 are appropriated for Georgia.

Bolstering Canada’s defenses after the War, £5,703

The dust barely settled on the French and Indian War, the Monarch wanted money appropriated for maintaining the garrisons in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and Quebec.  There is also funding set aside for “supporting the establishment of Nova Scotia.”

Paying the Hessians, soldiers and widows of soldiers for the war, as well as funding the general operations of the Army, £3,090,649 pounds for the Army

There is much funding in this document for supporting the King’s military, including paying money to Hessians who fought alongside the English in the French and Indian War.  The landgrave of Hesse received £50,000, £500,000 was budgeted for "German demands."

Building His Majesty’s Navy and contracting and expanding hospitals, £ 2,095,568

Money is set aside for the maintenance and construction of ships, as well as for several hospitals that were known to take on wounded soldiers and veterans, including Greenwich hospital.

On March 10, 1764, Grenville wrote to Lord Northumberland, stating the voting proceeded as expected and that the King was pleased.  However, as the document he received notes, the deficiencies in the Sinking Fund, established to pay off short term debt and fund capital projects, as well as long term debt, meant that more money was needed.

A report on the proceedings of the House of Commons noted that even when extraordinary expenses were taken out, a peacetime budget would have a deficit of more than £350,000.  In mid March, mere days after the preparation of this document, the Sugar Act was proposed.  These proceedings note that of the deficit, the £350,000 would be "made good by the new taxes imposed on our people in America.” The Sugar Act was passed April 5. It placed a duty (tax) that would be strictly enforced on sugar, molasses, and other foreign goods, including wines, coffee, pepper, and clothe, and also regulated the export of lumber and iron. The enforced tax on molasses caused the almost immediate decline in the rum industry in the colonies. The combined effect of the new duties was to sharply reduce the trade with Madeira, the Azores, the Canary Islands, and the French West Indies (Guadalupe, Martinique and Haiti)), all important destination ports. The duties further disrupted the colonial economy by reducing the money available to them for the purchase of British manufactured goods. This act set the stage for the revolt at the imposition of the Stamp Act the next year.