It was during this period that "the government in London took charge of the colonies in unprecedented ways... to help raise funds to pay for the war and finance the empire" (Forner 141) . The British government was heavily in debt after fighting the Seven Years' War on several fronts. The need to raise funds was paramount, and the colonies were a ready source. As a result, the British government began imposing taxes on the colonies as a means of revenue. This was a change in the relationship between America and the homeland. Many Americans opposed these taxes (Forner 142-143). According to Forner, “Opposition to the Stamp Act was the first great drama of the Revolutionary era and the first great division between the colonist and Great Britain over the meaning of liberty” (142). This law was eventually repealed by Parliament in 1766 after significant opposition from the Americans (Forner 144). The Stamp Act was just the beginning of numerous events and taxes on colonists that led to the Boston Tea Party. After the failure of the Stamp Act, the British government tried various schemes to obtain tax revenue