What was molasses used for in the colonies

This bill is different: it clearly favors one set of colonies over another. The bill passed the House of Commons on April 14, but was killed in the House of Lords as being detrimental to trade of the empire. The Molasses Bill of Leading up to the session of Parliament to again consider the bill of prohibition , there was another blizzard of argument regarding the trade involving molasses.

After a period of rancorous argument, James Oglethorpe made this point:. There never was perhaps before this House an Affair of greater Moment, than the Affair which is now before us. The whole British Trade, all our Colonies and Settlements in America, may be ruined and undone, or very much encouraged and strengthened by the Resolutions we come to upon the present Occasion. He advocated balance, pointing out the advantages of both the sugar islands and New England.

We ought not to encourage or raise one Colony upon the Destruction or Detriment of another; much less ought we to grant a Favour to any Subject, or to any particular Set of People, which may prove to be against the publick Good of the Nation in general. After careful deliberation, the Lords again killed the bill. The duty would be a sham, embedded in what was claimed to be a revenue act, a money bill, thereby giving greater weight to desires of the House of Commons.

The new preamble retained the flavor of favoritism. That from and after [December 25, ] there shall be raised, levied, collected and paid [duties on rum and other spirits, payable in money of Great Britain] and upon all molasses or syrups of such foreign produce or manufacture. The prohibitive import duty should have been enough to stop the American trade with the foreign islands; the prohibition against export of horses and lumber prominent in the bill had been dropped.

And be it further enacted, that in case any of the said commodities shall be landed. Penalties and forfeitures so recovered there shall be divided as follows: one third part for the use of his majesty.

Sir John Barnard rose in opposition to ask if the duty was intended to be prohibitory, cutting off all trade with the foreign islands.

Bladen replied:. The duties proposed would not prove an absolute prohibition, but [they are intended] as something that should come very near it, for in the way the northern colonies are, they raise the French islands at the expense of ours, and raise themselves. Here he characterized the duty as a tax.

This now comes to acquaint thee that thro the restlessness of the West India Gentlemen who have the ministry on their side , the House of Commons have lately come into Resolutions to impose a duty upon Foreign Sugar, molasses and Rum that shall be imported into our Plantations. I am of the opinion if such a Law take place, besides the present Injury it will do , it will be rather worse in the consequence of it than the Bill of prohibition last year, because of the levying a Subsidy upon a free People without their knowledge against their consent, who have the libertys and immunities granted them [of] Natural born Subjects.

He explained why it was worse—and was prescient about the act being called a precedent for further taxation. In later years, this distinction became one of the central issues in the controversy over the authority of Parliament. Debate on a Petition: money bill or trade regulation? On March 8, the House was asked to admit a petition from Rhode Island against the bill.

The resulting debate primarily dealt not with the merits of the petition itself, but whether the petition should be heard. The petition [prays] for leave to be heard against a Bill now pending in this house, by which some certain duties are to be laid on several commodities mentioned in the Bill.

Consequently, an astonishing number of present-day molasses products and recipes invoke the nostalgic image and benevolent authority of Grandma. One common molasses brand is named Grandma's; another claims to be "like Grandma used to make. Recipes using molasses in cookies and gingerbread are standards in almost any American cookbook. More unusual recipes can be found in old cookbooks, especially those connected to the South or New England.

And, in a nice irony of modernization, trolling the Internet will turn up several dozen molasses recipes, as well as the whereabouts of sorghum makers. Some brands are labeled light or dark, others mild or full-flavored. At least one company grades its molasses with names such as Jamaica and Barbados, reflecting the Caribbean origin. Blackstrap is generally the darkest and thickest -- with a bitter edge that makes it too strong for certain uses.

This is my own adaptation based on several puddings I encountered in "Recipes from Old Virginia" I cook it on cold days -- the 2 hours of steaming warms the kitchen, while the rich pudding makes a satisfying dessert. It's not quite as subtle as a persimmon or fig pudding, but it's easier to prepare and serves quite nicely in late winter and early spring, when fresh fruit is harder to come by.

Place a canning ring, steaming rack, trivet or a folded washcloth in the bottom of a large stockpot. Add 2 inches of water and set over high heat. While the water is coming to a boil, cream the butter; mix in the molasses, hot water, milk and eggs.

Sift the flour with the soda and spices; blend into the butter mixture. Add the raisins, walnuts and rum. This was one of the first decisions of British Parliament that gave a real boost to organizers smuggling in New England colonies.

Simultaneously it promoted corruption among customs officials. To crack down colonial trade with countries other than Britain, especially France, the government created a new on foreign molasses.

The Molasses Act of was enacted by the British Parliament on the 13 colonies of America with the purpose of protecting its sugar plantations in the West Indies. All of these industries were intricately tied together and supported one another.

A collapse in one industry or a price surge in another, a surplus of goods in one colony or a new trade restriction by a colonial power, had wide ranging ripples throughout the entire Atlantic economy.

A very large trade network developed between the New England and middle colonies on the mainland and the French, Dutch and Spanish possessions in the West Indies. Molasses produced in the British West Indies was more expensive than molasses produced in the other islands, partly because the climate and soil of the French islands produced better sugar cane.

Secondly, the French planters were forced to sell for lower prices because of a law in France that prevented them from exporting rum or molasses back to France, or from making rum at all.

France had a very large domestic brandy making industry and in order to protect its brandy manufacturers, they prohibited the import and selling of rum in France. This made French sugar cane manufacturers more desperate to find willing buyers for their products so they lowered their prices. In addition, since the restriction on selling molasses to France put the French planters in a bind, the French government tried to create a market for molasses by making a law stating that New England fish could only be paid for with molasses!

Why would they do that? Fish from New England was a huge import into the French islands, so the law created a market for molasses by force! Colonists in North America of course bought the cheaper and superior molasses from the French West Indies, practically shutting out sugar cane manufacturers from the British islands.

The colonists also had another incentive to trade with the French islands, instead of the British islands. The British islands had no use for the lumber, fish, flour, cheese and other goods that were the main exports of the colonies. They already had these in abundant supply.

The French islands however, desperately needed these things and were eager to buy as much as the colonists could ship them. The colonies were also desperately in need of a market for their grains and livestock. British law forbade them from selling these to England because these items were produced in great abundance in England already and Parliament wanted to eliminate any colonial competition to these home grown industries.

See how complicated and intricately interwoven all of these industries were? All of this precipitated an outcry from the British West Indian plantation owners to Parliament. They asked for laws to be passed that would prohibit the other British colonies from importing sugar, molasses and rum from any foreign countries. This would force them to buy these goods only from the British islands. At the time, the economic power of the mainland colonies was not fully realized and trade with the West Indies was considered to be of more importance to the empire.

In addition, the island plantation owners had powerful allies in Parliament. The result of their outcry was the Sugar and Molasses Act of , which did not prohibit the importation of foreign molasses into the American colonies, but instead placed a heavy tax on the foreign goods in order to force the colonists into buying cheaper goods from the British planters.

The act also placed similar restrictions on the important of the same goods into Ireland for the same purposes. You can read the complete text of the Molasses Act by clicking on the link at the bottom of this page, but know that the Molasses Act is quite long and difficult to understand. You would be advised to read the rest of this article for an explanation first!

This is an excerpt of the Molasses Act that mentions the amounts of the tax and on which goods. It specifically mentions all rum or other spirits, molasses, syrups and sugars derived from any foreign sources. The core of the act is a six cents a gallon tax on molasses:. You can read the complete Molasses Act text here. Had the Molasses Act ever truly been enforced, it would have wreaked havoc on the colonial economy.