the Stamp Act
/ðə ˈstæmp ækt/
/ðə ˈstæmp ækt/
- a British Act of Parliament in 1765. It stated that all publications and legal documents in British colonies (= parts of the empire) in America must have official stamps, sold by the British government. Many people in America thought that this was an unfair tax. They refused to use the stamps and prevented British ships from entering or leaving their ports. The Stamp Act was removed in 1766 but the tax, and the people's protests against it, are among the important events that led to the American Revolution.
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the Stamp Act