It depends on how one looks at Columbus, in some terms he was a hero for finding Spain more land & cultivating it in a way. He was also a Villian for the way he treated American natives.
Initially, the colonists accepted these taxes because they were lightly enforced by the government. These taxes were also light themselves, and were not a harsh payment to make for imports. When the British government did enforce these light duties and eventually added more direct taxes, the colonists feared that by accepting these, they would lose their property and political rights to the British. In the end, the colonists opposed all taxes imposed on them by the government.
