Hat Act - British Laws and Taxes
Discover interesting facts and information about the Taxes in the 13 Colonies, including the Hat Act, which was imposed on the colonists of Colonial America by the British government via parliament. The Hat Act was one of a series of taxes that divided Great Britain and its colonies in America. The role of the legal systems and courts in the colonies included enforcing the laws of Great Britain.
The Hat Act and the Fur Trade
The fur trade was highly lucrative and the French and English had fought to monopolize the fur trade during the Beaver Wars. Beaver skins or pelts was the raw material used to make a good quality felt used in hat making. Beaver hats were a status symbol for position and wealth in the 1600 and 1700's. The sales of hats made from beaver skins were an extremely important source of income to the British nation. From 1700 to 1770 the beaver skins that were exported from the American colonies to Great Britain were used to make 21 million hats which the British exported from England to other parts of Europe. Beaver skins were the first great American trade commodity.
Examples of the hats produced from beaver pelts
Mercantilism and the Hat Act
The Hat Act was part of the policy of Mercantilism that favored England in which the raw materials from the colonies, in this case beaver fur and pelts, were used to make different products in England - finished goods had a higher value than the raw materials.