Navigation Acts
To encourage settlement, the Charter of Carolina had exempted Carolinians from paying export duties, or taxes, on goods such as tobacco — but only for seven years, and in 1670, that exemption expired, and the Navigation Acts went into full force. The residents of Albemarle were unhappy with the Navigation Acts. They relied on tobacco for their income, and since Albemarle did not have a good port, they sold much of their tobacco to traders from New England, whose small ships could get through narrow inlets. They considered the tax an unfair hardship. Worse, the taxes came on top of several years of bad harvests caused by major hurricanes, drought, and wild rains. Settlers also grumbled about the quitrents they had to pay on their land, which were higher than in neighboring colonies.