The
Meaning and Definition of the Act: The Iron
Act of 1750 was a British Law, passed by the
Parliament of Great Britain, that was designed
to encourage the American manufacture of more
pig iron and iron bars by the American colonists
in the 13 Colonies
to be sent to England, tax free. But the Act of 1750 also prohibited the colonies from
producing finished iron goods.
Mercantilism and the Iron Act
The Iron Act was part of the policy of
Mercantilism that favored
England in which materials from the
colonies, in this case pig iron and iron bar,
were used to make different products in England
- finished goods had a higher value than the raw
materials.
Triangular Trade and the Iron Act
The
establishment of the 13 Colonies, with their
surplus of raw materials, made it possible for
Great Britain to engage in highly lucrative
trading via the
Triangular Trade routes across the Atlantic.
Pig Iron, a type of crude iron shaped like a
block, and the smaller iron bar were made from the raw materials provided by
the colonies and were sent to England.
Map of the Thirteen Colonies
Iron Act of 1750 - Which colonies produced
Iron?
Which colonies produced Iron? Many colonies
produced iron but the Middle Colonies of
Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York, and New Jersey
are perhaps most strongly associated with this
industry. However Virginia and then Maryland
were the first colonies to export iron to
England. In fact the Maryland Legislature
passed an “Act for the Encouragement of an Iron
Manufacture within this Province” in 1719.
Iron Act -
Background Information
Iron was an extremely important raw material
available in the American colonies. To produce
iron, the Ironworks required two main
elements - a source of iron ore and wood to
make charcoal to fuel the furnace - the colonies had
both of these raw materials in abundance. The
terms relating to the manufacture of iron were:
Pig iron is the name used when it is directly
produced from a blast furnace in the form of oblong
blocks. When it is refined, through further melting
and blending, it produces wrought iron, cast
iron and steel
Cast
iron is brittle and was used to make items like
cannon balls, frying pans and Dutch ovens
Wrought
iron is very tough and was used to make anchor
chains, wagon wheels, spikes, musket barrels and
nails
Steel is
hardened and was used to make swords, cutlery, knife
blades, files and saws
Iron bar
was a smaller size than pig-iron making it easier to
handle by blacksmiths
Some
Bar-iron went to rolling mills, which rolled the
iron into much smaller thicknesses
Some
bar-iron went to slitting mills, which made rods
for products like nails or wire
A
Reverberatory furnace of 1647 used to melt iron
in Colonial Times
Iron Act - Finished Products
Large blocks of iron were exported to England to
enable their workers to make these finished
goods in Colonial Times. It was used to make a
number of items including barrel hoops, anchors
and chains for the ships, wagon wheels, plows,
tools, spikes and kettles. The smaller Iron bar
was sent to England to make smaller items.
The Purpose of the Iron Act of 1750
The
purpose of the Iron Act of 1750 was as follows:
To restrict the growth of finished goods made in the
colonies and encourage the supply of raw metals to
England
To
permit Pig iron and iron bar to enter England duty
free (not taxed)
To ban the direct export of iron to any other
countries
The
following were also prohibited:
The
establishment of furnaces that produced steel for
tools
The
erection of rolling and slitting mills &
plating forges for making steel
The
manufacture of hardware (finished goods)
Colonial
governors were required to certify what mills of
these types already existed
The Effect of the Iron Act of 1750
The
effect of the Iron Act of 1750 was to suppress
the manufacture of finished goods and hardware
in the colonies and to increase the production
of iron and increase its export to England. The
Act was so successful that by the start of the
American War of Independence the furnaces and
forges in the American colonies turned out
one-seventh of the world's iron. In 1750 the
colonies exported 3000 tonnage of iron, by 1770
exports increased to 8000 tonnage.
Iron-Works
Iron Act - British Laws and
Taxes
Discover interesting facts and
information about the
Taxes in the
13 Colonies, including the Iron Act,
which was imposed on the colonists of Colonial
America by the British government via parliament. The
Iron 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 Colonists Reaction to the Iron Act of 1750
The
Iron Act of 1750 was seen as detrimental to
Colonial America and sewed the seeds of
dissension and rebellion in the colonies. The
colonists reaction to the Iron Act led to
anger, resentment, dissension and ultimately
revolution in Colonial America - the American
Revolutionary War (1775–1783) and the
Declaration of Independence from Great Britain.
Iron Act
Meaning and Definition of the Act
History of the
Iron Act of 1750
Fast Facts and info about Iron Act
timeline
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Social Studies Homework help for kids on the Iron Act of 1750
