The Boston Tea Party
Created | Updated Oct 12, 2005
Broke?
In the 1700s, American patriotism was strong, and they were growing annoyed of the English rule. The English had fought a costly war, The French and Indian War, that had left them near bankrupt. The King imposed more taxes in England, and though this helped, they were still in bad shape. So the King looked across the Atlantic, towards his American colonies for tax money1, which only angered them. The Americans had long held the ideal that the English should not be able to tax them without their representation in the government in England.
The East India Tea Company and the Tea Act
English companies were suffering also, and the East India Tea Company was on the verge of bankruptcy, so the King imposed a new tax, the Tea Act of 1773. This act provided the company with the right to export the goods right to the colonies, without merchants as middlemen. This act stirred up American resistance and they once again protested, "No taxation without representation!" They didn't want taxes if they had no say in their government. Massive amounts of colonists boycotted tea, and harrassed cargo ships. A large result of this was less and less tea trade.
A Tea Party
After East India Tea workers refused to stop unloading from the three boats despite patriot harassment, about one hundred fifty men decided that they had to do something. Led by Samuel Adams, the men split into three groups of fifty and some dressed (poorly) as Mohawk Indians. These three groups each boarded three ships and heaved the tea chests off into Boston Harbor. This was known by the newspapers as the Boston Tea Party and the name stuck.
The Effects
After these Boston men refused to pay for the ruined product, the King and his government imposed even more strict laws and decreased the rights of the colonist. This inflamed their anger and set up a new kind of resistance that would eventually lead to the American Revolutionary War. This event has created a place in American history as the beginning of a long rebellion and has focused Boston as one of the most patriotic cities in the country.
1Understandably so, in fact the war that they had fought was defending the American Colony in the French-Indian War
