The Tea Act
Or How I Learned to Quit Drinking Tea and
Learned to Love Coffee
Tea Time
O By 1773, colonial boycotts and widespread
smuggling had put the British East India
Company – England’s largest supplier of tea
– dangerously close to bankruptcy.
O The East India Company was a favorite of
the British Parliament. It made a huge
amount of money, and many representatives
in Parliament had invested money in the
company.
Tea Act of 1773
O To save the East India Company, the British
Parliament passed the Tea Act of 1773.
Tea Act
O The East India
Company had
thousands of tons of
tea it could not sell.
O To prevent
bankruptcy,
Parliament passed
the Tea Act.
Tea Act: Part 1
O The Tea Act granted
a monopoly to sell
tea in the colonies to
the company.
O In other words, only
the East India
Company could sell
tea.
Tea Act: Part 2
O Also, only East India
Company ships could
bring tea to the
colonies.
O Only selected
merchants could
now sell the tea in
the colonies.
Tea Act: Part 3
O The new rules
lowered the price of
tea so it was now
cheaper than tea the
colonists were
smuggling.
O Britain hoped the low
price would attract
buyers.
Tea Act: Part 4
O Finally, the Tea Act
put a small tax –
three cents per
pound – on the tea.
O If you don’t drink tea,
trust me, a pound is
a lot of tea. You
could entertain a lot
of Englishmen.
Colonial Anger Part 1
O The Tea Act’s
monopoly greatly
impacted many
colonial shopkeepers
and shippers – they
could no longer sell
or ship tea.
Colonial Anger Part 2
O Other colonists noted
that there was yet
another tax they had
not consented too.
Protests
O The colonists
protested the act,
and in many ports
East India Company
Tea ships quickly
turned back towards
home.
O But not in Boston….
Party Time
O The ship Dartmouth, in
Boston harbor, was not
allowed by British
officials to leave.
O Samuel Adams gave a
speech to a gathering
of the Sons of Liberty
and asked ‘what do we
intend to do about it?’
Boston Tea Party
O 50 Sons of Liberty,
poorly disguised as
Mohawk Indians,
boarded the ship and
dumped 120 chests
of tea into Boston
harbor. The Tea was
worth about 9,600
British pounds.
Aftermath
O Upon hearing the news, John Adams wrote
in his journal that “the
destruction of
the tea in Boston harbor was so
bold, so daring, that it must have
far reaching consequences…”
O He was right.