In 1765, the Stamp Act Congress convened in New York to draw up colonial grievances against England.

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This is where Patrick Henry defied the British Stamp Act in 1765.

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Its coverage of the Stamp Act helped fan the fires of revolution, and it was instrumental in fostering political discourse in the new republic.

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The idea behind the series of taxes, after the failure of the Stamp Act, was to try a system of indirect taxes since the colonists had reacted so strongly to the direct stamp tax.

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The first in the series, the Stamp Act of 1765, required that materials which were printed and used in the colonies, like magazines and newspapers, be produced on stamped paper and embossed with revenue stamp.

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The actual process of buying or selling property is quite fascinating, with the vast majority of the laws governing the real estate sector firmly rooted in the 19th century (Transfer of Property Act 1882, and the Indian Stamp Act 1899) with little updating done to reflect the realities of the modern era.

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Control of stamp duty on land and property is being devolved from Westminster to Holyrood under the recently passed Scotland Act.

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