Tea Act and Boston Tea Party
Background
The Boston Tea Party was a colonial demonstration and act of vandalism to protest the Tea Act
of 1773. The Tea Act was essentially a government bailout for the cash-strapped East India
Company, which actually could have resulted in lower tea prices to the colonial consumer. Under
the Act, the East India Company could sell its tea in American ports (without shipping through
Great Britain) and the Company was exempt from British tea import taxes.
What the British Government under Lord North did not foresee was American merchant
resentment towards an unfair tax break to a company that already had a monopoly on tea
imports. Also, there was the symbolic and long-term resentment in the colonies over Britain’s
arbitrary trade and mercantile restrictions.
Colonial Reaction to the Tea Act
Many colonists, urged by their local merchants, responded to the Tea Act
by boycotting tea.Colonial women, who were heavy tea drinkers, also lent a hand in this
symbolic resistance to British taxation. A few colonies were able to keep East India Company
ships from unloading their cargoes, and the local strong-arm tactics and pressure even forced
some of the company agents to resign. A significant amount of the tea was sent back to England
or warehoused unsold.
Boston, on the other hand, was somewhat of a different story. Port agents refused to resign and
sought the protection of the Royal Governor. The company agents decided to to bring the tea
ashore, regardless of local opposition.
Samuel Adams and the Boston Tea Party
On December 16, 1773, a group estimated to be between 30 and 130 men, some crudely
disguised as Mohawk Indians, headed towards Boston Harbor. As agitated Boston citizens
skulked around the docks where three ships laden with tea cargo were moored, the "Mohawks"
boarded ships and in the course of three hours (without resistance by the ships' captains),
dumped over 300 chests (valued at about $2 million in today's money) of tea into the harbor.
Also, British ships that had been stationed in the harbor to prevent the merchants from leaving
without offloading their cargo did nothing to interfere with the colonists.
Although it is doubtful that Samuel Adams (cousin of John Adams, future second President of
the United States) participated directly in the dumping of the tea, he was definitely an instigator
and later apologist for the deed. Here is what he said on the day of the Boston Tea Party:
"Fellow countrymen, we cannot afford to give a single inch! If we retreat now, everything we
have done becomes useless! If (Governor) Hutchinson will not send tea back to England, perhaps
we can brew a pot of it especially for him!"
British Reaction and Results of the Boston Tea Party
Outraged and determined not to let what they considered an act of
rebellion and vandalism go unpunished, the British Government decided to get tough. The
Parliament (even members who considered themselves friends of the colonists) united and
passed a series of four laws that targeted the Bostonians. Known as the “Coercive Acts” (or
“Intolerable Acts” by the colonists) these acts:
♦ Closed the Port of Boston until such time as the destroyed tea was paid for.
♦ Revoked the Massachusetts colony charter and restricted public assembly.
♦ Forced colonial civilians to house British soldiers.
♦ Allowed British officials accused of capital crimes to be tried outside the colonies.
♦ Placed Massachusetts under rigid British military control.
In sum, the aftermath of the Boston Tea Party was the British clampdown that further inspired
united the colonies and accelerated the start of the American Revolution in 1775.
Questions:
♦ Was the special treatment given to the British East Indian Company fair?
♦ The Tea Act did not actually result in raising taxes in the colonies. Why were the colonists so
outraged?
♦ Was the destruction of the tea cargo in the holds of the merchant ships justified?
♦ What could have been done to prevent the destruction of the tea?
♦ Were the British measures to punish Massachusetts appropriate and fair?
♦ Would acts of vandalism such as the Boston Tea Party be appropriate or tolerated today? If so,
give a hypothetical example; if not, state why not?
The Destruction of Tea in Numbers and Facts
The Boston Tea Party occurred on Thursday, December 16, 1773, and took
3 hours between 7 and 10 PM
90,000 lbs (45 tons) of tea in 342 containers was thrown overboard
116 people participated in the destruction of tea
Each full container had a weight of 400 pounds. Half-containers were 100
pounds each
The destroyed tea was worth an estimated £10,000. In today’s money this
would be approximately equal to a million dollars
More than 5000 people showed up for the meeting in the Old South
Meeting house
The names of the three B.T.P. ships were Dartmouth, Eleanor and Beaver
The Tea Party occurred at the Griffin’s Wharf in Boston that no longer
exists due to landfills that occurred in 19th century