The Boston Tea Party
By: Isaac Baccam
Background Information
- The "Boston Tea Party" started due to a series of new British laws that made the colonists angry.
- One of these acts, the "Townshend Acts", put taxes on many common goods like glass, paper,or paint. Colonists often used these goods and felt that they were unfairly taxed.
- When the British put a tax on tea, the colonists got even more angry. They felt like they were being cheated and decided to protest.
- Colonists were upset and angry that they had no say on laws passed in Parliament. When they heard that taxes were being put on tea they decided to dump British tea into the Boston Harbor to show their anger.
Information about the protest
- The "Tea Party" occurred on December 16, 1773.
- To protest, Bostonian colonists raided several ships carrying British tea. These ships were called the "Dartmouth", "Eleanor", and "Beaver".
- Protesters dressed up as Indians to disguise their true identities.
- To show their anger at the tea tax, the colonists threw all the tea carried on the British ships into the Boston Harbor.
Effects of the Protest
- Due to the "Tea Party" Britain made a series of laws known as the "Intolerable Acts" to force the colonists to obey the British laws.
- However, these acts only strengthened the colonists' hatred of the British and caused them to rebel.
- This increased frustration eventually sparked the Revolutionary War with the British.
How did the participants in the "Boston Tea Party" demonstrate their belief system through their protests?
Through throwing the tea off the ships, the participants in the "Boston Tea Party" showed their belief systems. When they got rid of the tea, they were showing their anger at the new tea tax. The colonists thought the tea tax was unfair and believed that they should have more say in British laws. The participants demonstrated that the British Government was being unreasonable and that they should be allowed to be more independent. In short, the "Boston Tea Party" was a symbolic act meant to show the colonists' anger with the British Government and their unfair laws.