Which act, passed after the Stamp Act, asserted Parliament's authority to tax the colonies regardless of royal authority?

• A. Stamp Act
• B. Intolerable Acts
• C. Declaratory Act
• D. Townshend Acts

Answer: (C)

The main idea being tested is parliamentary sovereignty over colonial taxation. After the Stamp Act sparked protests by imposing taxes on the colonies, Parliament moved to reaffirm its authority with the Declaratory Act of 1766. This act asserted that Parliament had the right to make laws for the colonies in all cases whatsoever, including taxation, and that this power stood regardless of colonial charters or royal prerogatives. It was a clear statement that Parliament’s authority outweighed local or royal authority in the colonies and that taxation could be imposed by Parliament when it chose.

This fits the question because it directly addresses who has the power to tax the colonies and explicitly states that Parliament’s power is supreme. The other measures—one that actually imposed the tax, another set of duties and imports, and another set of punitive laws—do not make this broad claim of Parliament’s unrestricted authority.