Omar Bennett
The Boston Tea Party was a protest against the Tea Act, which imposed high taxes on tea. In November 1773, East India Company ships carrying taxed tea arrived in colonial ports. In Boston, 30 to 130 men, mostly from the Sons of Liberty, boarded three tea ships and destroyed 342 chests of tea by dumping them into the harbour. This act of defiance against British taxation and colonial rights sparked controversy, with some colonial leaders disapproving and others praising it as a brave exertion of popular power. The Boston Tea Party was a central event in the American Revolution, leading the thirteen American colonies closer to independence and shifting cultural attitudes towards tea drinking as unpatriotic.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date | 16 December 1773 |
| Location | Griffin's Wharf, Boston, Massachusetts |
| Protesters | 60 American colonists |
| Tea chests thrown | 342 |
| Ships | Dartmouth, Eleanor, Beaver, Fortune |
| Tea supplier | British East India Company |
| Cause | Taxation without representation |
| Result | Boston Harbour closed |
| Inspired | Similar acts of protest |
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What You'll Learn
Colonists protesting the Tea Act
The Boston Tea Party was a protest against the Tea Act, passed by British Parliament on May 10, 1773. The Tea Act granted the British East India Company a monopoly on tea sales in the American colonies, undercutting the business of colonial merchants. The Act allowed the company to sell tea at a lower price, angering American merchants and colonists.
Prior to the Tea Act, colonial merchants purchased tea directly from British markets or smuggled it from illegal markets. They then shipped it back to the colonies for resale. In protest of the Tea Act, colonists in Philadelphia and New York refused to allow British East India Company tea to be offloaded, sending the ships back to England. In Boston, however, the governor allowed tea to arrive, leading to the Boston Tea Party.
On the night of December 16, 1773, a group of Sons of Liberty members disguised themselves as Mohawk Indians, boarded three ships moored in Boston Harbor, and destroyed over 92,000 pounds of tea. This act of protest was not an isolated incident, as similar actions occurred in Edenton, North Carolina, and Yorktown, Virginia. The Boston Tea Party was a significant event in the lead-up to the American Revolution, inspiring further acts of colonial resistance and ultimately influencing the course of history.
The Tea Act itself was passed to address the financial troubles of the British East India Company, which was suffering from massive debts. The company faced financial challenges due to annual contractual payments to the British government, unstable political and economic issues in India, and weak European markets resulting from debts incurred in wars. The Tea Act was intended as a bailout policy, but it had the unintended consequence of igniting strong opposition and resentment among American colonists.
The tax on tea had existed since the Townshend Revenue Act of 1767, and it was the sole remaining tax from that act that was not repealed in 1770. Colonists believed the Tea Act was a tactic to gain colonial support for the existing tax. The perception of a monopoly, combined with the existing tax, drove colonial merchants to join forces with radicals led by Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty. The Boston Tea Party was thus a culmination of grievances against taxation without representation and the perceived monopoly of the East India Company.
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Destruction of 342 chests of tea
The Boston Tea Party, also known as "The Destruction of the Tea", was a seminal American political and mercantile protest that took place on the night of 16 December 1773, during the American Revolution. The protest was initiated by the Sons of Liberty, who organised a mass meeting of thousands at Boston's Old South Meeting House. The group consisted of about 60 to 100 American colonists, who were dressed as Native Americans. They boarded three merchant ships in Boston Harbour: the Dartmouth, the Eleanor, and the Beaver. These ships were loaded with tea belonging to the British East India Company, which had been granted a monopoly over tea imports into the colonies by the Tea Act of May 1773.
The colonists threw 342 chests of tea into the water, destroying it all. The tea weighed over 92,000 pounds (roughly 46 tons) and was valued at approximately $1.7 million in today's currency. The destruction of the tea was a very costly blow to the British, and it caused a strong reaction from the British government, which considered the protest an act of treason. The British East India Company reported £9,659 worth of damage caused by the Boston Tea Party. According to some modern estimates, the destroyed tea could have brewed 18,523,000 cups of tea!
The Sons of Liberty took great care to avoid the destruction of personal property, ensuring that nothing besides the tea was damaged. After the destruction, the participants swept the decks of the ships clean, and anything that had been moved was put back in its proper place. The crews of the ships attested that there had been no damage to any of the ships, their crews, or any other items on board, except for one broken padlock, which belonged to one of the ship captains and was promptly replaced the next day.
The Boston Tea Party was a crucial turning point in the escalation of the American Revolution and became a powerful symbol of American protest and independence. It pushed Britain's Parliament to assert its authority, and in 1774, Parliament passed a series of laws known as the "'Intolerable Acts' or "Coercive Acts", which further increased tensions between Britain and the American colonists. These punitive measures included ending local self-government in Massachusetts, closing Boston's commerce, and keeping Boston Harbour closed until restitution was made for the destroyed tea.
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Boycott of British goods
The Boston Tea Party was a significant event in the history of the American Revolution, marking an act of colonial defiance against British rule and taxation policies. In the lead-up to this event, there was a series of boycotts and protests against British goods, particularly tea, which played a crucial role in shaping the colonial response to British colonial policies.
The Townshend Acts, passed by the British Parliament in 1767, imposed duties on various products imported into the colonies, including tea. This sparked widespread colonial protest and noncompliance, with merchants in Boston circumventing the act by smuggling tea from Dutch traders. In response to these boycotts and protests, the Townshend duties were eventually repealed in 1770, except for the duty on tea, which was retained to demonstrate Parliament's presumed right to tax the colonies without their approval.
Colonial merchants and activists responded to the continued tax on tea with further boycotts and non-importation agreements. Many colonists pledged to abstain from consuming British tea, with activists promoting alternatives such as domestic Labrador tea. The boycott movement was so effective that tea agents in cities like New York, Philadelphia, and Charleston resigned or cancelled orders, and merchants refused consignments.
The passage of the Tea Act in 1773 further escalated tensions. This Act was designed to aid the financially troubled East India Company by granting it a monopoly on tea exports to the colonies, exempting it from export taxes, and providing refunds on duties for surplus tea. The East India Company could now sell tea at lower prices, undercutting colonial merchants and shippers. This perceived monopoly drove colonial merchants to join forces with radicals led by Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty, who advocated for continued boycotts and non-importation agreements.
The boycotts and protests against British goods, particularly tea, created a sense of unity among the colonies and laid the groundwork for more direct acts of defiance, such as the Boston Tea Party. The Boston Tea Party, which took place on December 16, 1773, involved a group of 60 American colonists disguised as Mohawk Indians, boarding British ships in Boston Harbour and throwing 340 to 342 chests of tea into the water. This act of destruction was a powerful statement against taxation without representation and the perceived monopoly of the East India Company.
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Governor Hutchinson condemns the act
The Boston Tea Party was an act of political protest against taxation without representation and the monopoly of the East India Company. On the night of December 16, 1773, a group of 60 American colonists dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor. This act of defiance against British rule became a central event in the American Revolution.
Governor Thomas Hutchinson, the royal governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, condemned the Boston Tea Party as an act of treason. He had previously determined to uphold the law, allowing three ships—the Dartmouth, Eleanor, and Beaver—to deposit their cargoes and for appropriate duties to be honoured. However, in response to the growing crisis, Hutchinson invoked his civil authority and ordered the "Body of the People", who had gathered at Faneuil Hall to discuss action against the importation of East India Company tea, to disperse.
Hutchinson's initial response was met with a “loud and very general hiss”. Undeterred, he elected to invoke his military authority, ordering the Royal Navy to fire upon the Dartmouth if it attempted to leave Boston Harbor without clearance. He also instructed the commander of Castle William, Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Leslie, to load the fort's cannons, introducing the threat of violence into the standoff.
Despite Hutchinson's efforts, the participants of the Boston Tea Party reportedly swept the ships' decks clean before they left, and no property was damaged or looted aside from the destruction of the tea and a padlock. The event became a powerful symbol of resistance to British rule and inspired similar acts of protest across the Thirteen Colonies.
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The British response
Immediate Reaction
Governor Thomas Hutchinson condemned the Boston Tea Party as an act of treason. He invoked his military authority and ordered the Royal Navy to fire upon the Dartmouth if it attempted to leave Boston Harbour without clearance. He also instructed the commander of Castle William, Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Leslie, to load the fort's cannons.
Prime Minister Lord North felt that Great Britain should respond with a heavy hand. "Whatever may be the consequence,” he reportedly said, “we must risk something; if we do not, all is over."
Longer-Term Consequences
The Boston Tea Party pushed Britain's Parliament to assert its authority, and it passed the Intolerable Acts (or Coercive Acts) in 1774. These punitive measures included:
- Closing Boston's harbour until restitution was made for the tea
- Ending local self-government in Massachusetts
- Moving judicial authority to Britain and British judges, creating martial law in Massachusetts
- Requiring colonists to quarter British troops on demand
- Extending freedom of worship to French-Canadian Catholics under British rule, angering the mostly Protestant colonists
The Intolerable Acts were viewed as a violation of constitutional rights, natural rights, and colonial charters, and they united many colonists throughout America. Colonists across the Thirteen Colonies responded with additional acts of protest, such as the burning of Peggy Stewart, and by convening the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia, which coordinated colonial resistance.
The Boston Tea Party was a central event in the American Revolution, and it proved to be an enduring historical symbol. It showed Great Britain that Americans would not tolerate taxation and tyranny without representation, and it inspired American patriots across the 13 colonies to fight for independence.
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Frequently asked questions
The Boston Tea Party was a protest against the Tea Act, which allowed the struggling East India Company a monopoly on tea sales in North America.
The Tea Act was a law passed by the British Parliament to tax tea in the American colonies.
A group of 30 to 130 men, mostly from the Sons of Liberty, boarded three ships in Boston Harbour and dumped 342 chests of tea overboard.
The Boston Tea Party was a central event in the American Revolution, shifting colonial attitudes towards rebellion and independence. It also sparked the Coercive Acts of 1774, which further punished the colony of Massachusetts Bay.
Samuel Adams, John Adams, and the Sons of Liberty supported the Boston Tea Party. George Washington and Benjamin Franklin disapproved, believing it was an overstep and that compensation should be made.
