The Boston Tea Party
The Beginning of the Revolution That Started Them All.
By: Aidan McGinnis
What Happened Before the Tea Party?
In the year 1767 there was taxes (or duties) put on many goods that were imported by the colonies.This made the colonists very upset and many refused to pay the duties. Then, in 1770, the British Government repealed all the duties except one, the duty on tea.
Tea Party - Schoolhouse Rock - No more Kings
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What Did the British do Next?
Many leading patriot's were still against the tax on tea. Namely, John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, & Josiah Quincey. But this didn't stop the British, they kept going, helping a British trading company with their tea business. They helped a company called East India Company. The British made it so that the tea tax was still in place but the East India Company would be able to sell their tea for a cheaper price in the Americas.
How did the Colonists React to This?
This made the colonists even more upset because they thought that the East India Company would run local tea sellers out of business. Also, the colonists feared that if they payed the taxes on tea, the British would take back what they repealed and start making the colonists pay taxes on a lot of imported goods again.
What Happened during the Tea Party?
- Ships of British tea arrived in Boston at a place called Griffin's Wharf
- The colonists tried to get the ships sent back to Europe
- The ships were not sent back so, on December 16th, 1773, an unknown number of men (probably 100+) dressed as Mohawk Indians and boarded the ships
- The men may have been signaled to take over the ships by none other than Samuel Adams
- 90,000 pounds of tea in 342 boxes were thrown off the ships
- The tea thrown overboard was equal to 1.8 million dollars in today's money.
- Only one injury occurred and it was a man who was struck in the head by a piece of equipment used to lift heavy boxes of tea
- The man was knocked out but woke up soon after
The Boston Tea Party Song (Parody of Pharrell Williams - Happy)
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What happened because of the tea party?
- The British passed the Intolerable Acts in 1774, not allowing the colonists to trade with any other countries, because of what during the Boston Tea Party
- The Tea Party led to many other events that eventually helped America become free of Great Britain's rule
- Paul Revere was sent by Sam Adams to tell New York and Philadelphia what about what had happened in Boston
- There were some other Tea Parties in the next year(1774), they were inspired by the Boston Tea Party, one was in New York in April, a second one in Annapolis, Maryland in October,a final one in Greenwich, New Jersey in December
How did the tea party show the colonists beliefs?
The tea party showed that the colonists believed that if they believe something, than they need to fight for it no matter what happens after. The colonists believed that they didn't have to pay taxes if they were unfair to the people. So, they rebelled against the British Government in the Boston Tea Party, even though they knew that there would be negative consequences.