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Grenville, George (1712-1770) British Statesman: Grenville was born in London, and he held a number of minor offices under King George II, and served briefly as Secretary of State and Head of the Admiralty. He became notorious as First Lord of the Treasury when he established colonial trade regulations and taxation policies which alienated the colonists. He set up these policies through two sets of legislation, the Revenue Act of 1764 and the Stamp Act of 1765, as well as supplementary reinforcement of regulations to increase the effectiveness of revenue collection. His view of colonial taxation was in line with government discussions from 1762, which indicated Britain's belief that the colonists should bear part of the expense for the defense forces that would need to be maintained in the Americas after the French and Indian War. Grenville resigned from his position in 1765 because of a mutual lack of confidence between himself and King George III. In his last years, Grenville defended his American policies and insisted that Parliamentary authority over the colonies needed to be maintained.