The Boston Tea Party
John Adams a patriot
How the Patriots felt
Despite the hopes of Patriots like Sam Adams, the Boston Massacre did not spark new protests against British rule. Instead, the repeal of the Townshend duties led to a period of calm. True, there was still a small duty on tea. But the tax didn’t seem to bother Loyalists very much. Patriots knew they could always drink Dutch tea that had been smuggled into the colonies without paying duties.
How much tea did they dump?
About 90,000 pounds of tea were dumped into the sea that night.Nothing else on the ships was touched.
The ships came in
en the British East India Company’s tea ships sailed into American ports, angry protesters kept them from unloading their cargoes. More than one ship turned back for England, still filled with tea. In Boston, however, the royal governor ordered the British navy to block the exit from Boston Harbor. He insisted that three tea ships would not leave until all their tea was unloaded.
Dutch Tea
The Tea Act lowered the cost of tea that was sold by the British East India Company in the colonies. As a result, even taxed British tea became cheaper than smuggled Dutch tea. The Tea Act also gave the British East India Company a monopoly, or complete control, over tea sales in the colonies. From now on, the only merchants who could sell the bargain-priced tea were those chosen by the company.
The tea party excites the patriots
News of the Boston Tea Party excited Patriots throughout the colonies. “This is the most magnificent moment of all,” wrote John Adams in his journal the next day. “This destruction of the tea is so bold, so daring, so firm . . . it must have . . .important consequences.” He was right.