1733 --
THE MOLASSES ACT

In 1733, Nicholas Dupui was managing an Indian trading post at Shawnee-on-Delaware.  It would be another full decade before he converted his operation to that of a general store.  At that time, his customers were primarily from the Delaware Indian tribe, along with some Dutch that had followed him from New York's Kingston area.

We know the names of some of these earliest of Dutch pioneers because Dupui's store ledger makes reference to earlier account folios.  For example:  "To Balance of Account brought from Book Called 13:  Folio (6)". 

In total, 130 folios were maintained.  The names of these earliest settlers?  Anderus Van Flera, Benjamin Schoonmaker, Thomas Hendy, Samuel Holmes Sr., Hugh Pugh, Daniel Cragg, John McMichael, Daniel Brodhead, William Clark, Youramus Van Flera, Daniel Crely and Patrick White.

So how did the Molasses Act impact this community?  As a tax on molasses, sugar, and rum imported from non-British colonies, the Act had the effect of raising the price of molasses in New England (where rum distilling was one of the leading industries).  Yet the actual price increase was nominal at best, as the Molasses Act was largely circumvented through smuggling.

So, for all practical purposes, this Act had little to no effect on the local economy in Dupui's ambit.  Additionally, as rum could readily be watered down for sale to the indigenous population, there were certainly means available to maintain a healthy profit margin even if prices had risen somewhat.

As best as can be determined, the Molasses Act had only one long-term lingering effect on the local populace -- it resulted in absolutely no sales whatsover of sugar being recorded in Dupui's ledger until 1783, where a single entry at that very late date points to "1 lb. of tea and 2 lbs. sugar."