what was the Grenville Program?

Answer 1

First Lord of the Treasury and Secretary of State George Grenville became prime minister in 1763. He possessed no particular talent other than fussiness over detail. Grenville was the brother-in-law of William Pitt the elder, but lacked that leader’s understanding of, and sympathy for, the American colonies.

Grenville, who fancied himself a financial expert, was particularly concerned about the meager contribution made by the American colonies to the recent war effort, a conflict that many in England thought had been fought for the specific benefit of North American settlers. Grenville made a fateful decision to impose taxes and administrative reforms on the colonies rather than to seek voluntary financial contributions from the colonial assemblies, as had been done in the past.

Immediate steps taken in the Grenville program included:

Build-up of British soldiers in America

Proclamation of 1763

Customs Service Reform

Sugar Act (Revenue Act of 1764)

Currency Act of 1764

Stamp Act of 1765

While Britain was attempting to tighten imperial controls and gain financial support from the colonies to ease the crushing burden of the national debt, the Americans responded in anger and disbelief. The great threat in North America, France, had been vanquished in the recent war. In the colonists' eyes, Britain should have loosened its grasp over American affairs, not tightened it. This fissure of disagreement would widen over the next dozen years.

Answer 2

Hey Scott,

Against this backdrop, the government headed by George Grenville supported legislation in 1764 to reform the colonial currency situation. British merchants had long complained about the tendency of Americans to try to settle their debts with paper money of dubious value. The Currency Act provided for the following:
Paper money could longer be used as legal tender in the North American colonies.

No new paper money could be issued and that already in circulation was to be retired according to a prescribed timetable.
This reform was a clear victory for the conservative, hard money forces and a disaster for the working class elements, which lost a cheap means of discharging their debts. In the short space of a few months, Grenville had managed to ignite the passions of the two extremes of American society: The laborers saw their hopes thwarted by the Currency Act and the wealthier merchant class was stung by the Sugar Act.

Answer 3

George Grenville Definition

Answer 4

Lord Grenville

Answer 5

included the sending of Jacky Faber on missions as a spy