Among British-America's friends in England during the events that led to the Revolution was William Pitt the Elder, a powerful figure in the House of Commons. A former prime minister, Pitt believed Parliament had authority to legislate for the colonies, but he shared with the radicals in Williamsburg's House of Burgesses the opinion that Parliament could not levy internal taxes on them.
As American opposition to the Stamp Act grew, Pitt's brother-in-law, Prime Minister George Grenville, vigorously defended the tax. Pitt rose in the Commons on January 14, 1766 to "deliver my mind and heart upon the state of America." His address, excerpted here, helped secure the Act's repeal.
Word of the Stamp Act's revocation reached Virginia's capital on May 2, 1766. Royal Governor Francis Fauquier made the news official in a proclamation issued on June 6, 1766.
