Boston Tea Party by Drew McCourt, last updated 5/10/98
Related historical timeline created with Timeliner (Nobles grad, Tom Snyder)
"The Boston Tea Party of Dec. 16, 1773, took place when a group of Massachusetts Patriots, protesting the monopoly on American tea importation recently granted to Parliament by the East India Company, seized 342 chests of tea in a midnight raid on three tea ships and threw them into the harbor. This action, part of the wave of resistance throughout the colonies, had its origin in Parliaments attempt to rescue the financially weakened East India Company so as to continue benefiting from the companies' valuable position in India. The Tea Act (May 10, 1773) adjusted import duties in such a way that the company could undersell even smugglers in the colonies. The company selected consignees in Boston, New York, Charleston, and Philadelphia and 500,000 pounds of tea were shipped across the Atlantic in September.
Under pressure from Patriot groups, the consignees in Charleston, New York, and Philadelphia refused to accept the tea shipments, but in Boston, the chosen merchants refused to concede. The first tea ship, Dartmouth, reached Boston November 27, and two more arrived shortly there after. Meanwhile, several mass meetings were held to demand that the tea be sent back to England with the duty unpaid. Tension mounted as patriot groups led by Samuel Adams tried to persuade the consignees and then the governor to accept this approach. On December 16, a large meeting at the Old South Church was told of Hutchinson's final refusal. About midnight, watched by a large crowd, Adams and a small group of Sons of liberty disguised as Mohawk Indians boarded the ship and jettisoned the tea. To Parliament, The Boston Tea Party confirmed Massachusetts' role as the core of resistance to legitimate British rule. The Coercive Acts of 1774 were intended to punish the colony in general and Boston in particular, both for the Tea Party and for the pattern of existence it exemplified."
The Boston Tea Party was a pivotal time in the American revolution. It gave Americans a new hope and a feeling of resiliance, knowing that they did have some control. In addition, it exemplifed the American hopes and dreams of overthrowing anything which was opposed on them without their consent. This event symbolized in a sense, the American spirit, and it triggered a remarkable string of events to follow.
--Drew McCourt, Class of 2000 at Noble and Greenough School
history teacher: Donald Allard
sources: The Readers companion to American History
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