Political dynamite, 18th century style: the 1765 Stamp Act, a tax imposed on American colonies by the British Parliament. The tax was to be levied on all documents, printed matter, newspaper and so on to help defry the cost of maintaining British troops in the colonies. The colonies had no elected officals in parliament, nor could they afford to pay the tax. With the colonial rallying cry of "No taxation without representation " the Stamp Act helped light the fuse of the American Revolution.