Tea, Taxation, and Tumult: A History of the Boston Tea Party
Americans did not gain their independence without hardship. Many events, some
involving deliberation, others, protest, and others still, bloodshed. The results of these
happenings culminated in what we recognize today as the United States of America. One such
event was the Boston Tea Party, during which hundreds of pounds of tea were thrown from tea
ships into the Boston harbor. Despite its non-violent nature, this protest prompted Britain to pass
acts that would further catalyze the American Revolution.
After Britain’s victory over France in the French-Indian War, Britain was severely in
debt. As a method of funding themselves, a series of acts were passed on the colonies. In 1764,
the Sugar Act put duties on sugar, molasses, and similar goods. The next year, the Stamp Act
placed taxes on paper products such as newspapers and pamphlets. The Stamp Act was repealed
in 1766 due to its poor reception, and replaced with the Townshend Acts in 1767.
The Townshend Acts kept the taxes on tea while adding additional taxes for china, glass,
lead, paint, and tea. It was accompanied by the Declaratory Act, passed the previous year, which
stated that the British government may tax the American colonies to the same extent they tax
their own country. The Townshend Act went the way of the Stamp Act, being repealed in 1770
due to boycotts. All of the taxes on the affected products were lifted, save for the one on tea.
After the Townshend Act ended, while the majority of Americans still refused to drink
tea, many still did. Some of the tea was smuggled from the Netherlands, a cheaper alternative to
, its legally imported counterpart. These illegal sales cut into the East India Company’s bottom
line, which was problematic because they served as the backbone of the British economy. This
caused Parliament to pass the Tea Act in 1773 as a way to bail out the company.
Unintuitively, the Tea Act did not increase the tax of tea in the colonies. This act allowed
the East India Company to ship its tea directly to America without the previously required
docking in England beforehand. It also commissioned the agents who sold the tea to the
colonists. This act dropped the tax that the East India Company would have otherwise paid to
England, resulting in lowered tea prices in the American colonies. Despite the discounted goods,
the colonists began their boycotts once more. They were peeved about the monopoly Britain was
attempting to create.
Out of these protests came the Sons of Liberty, a patriot group consisting of merchants,
tradesmen, and revolutionists. Chaired by John Adams, the Sons of Liberty’s main goal was to
protest King George III’s and Parliament's taxation of the colonies. At the time of the Tea Act, its
main target was the arrival of three tea ships, the Dartmouth, the Beaver, and the Eleanor.
Ironically, the Beaver and the Eleanor were both American-built and owned ships. The same
morning they came they were swarmed by colonists on the surrounding wharf who refused to
comply with the taxation, as well as refusing the unloading, storage, sale, or use of the goods.
On the same December 16th night, an estimated hundred men boarded the ships dressed
as native americans and threw 342 chests of tea overboard into the Boston harbor. This took
Americans did not gain their independence without hardship. Many events, some
involving deliberation, others, protest, and others still, bloodshed. The results of these
happenings culminated in what we recognize today as the United States of America. One such
event was the Boston Tea Party, during which hundreds of pounds of tea were thrown from tea
ships into the Boston harbor. Despite its non-violent nature, this protest prompted Britain to pass
acts that would further catalyze the American Revolution.
After Britain’s victory over France in the French-Indian War, Britain was severely in
debt. As a method of funding themselves, a series of acts were passed on the colonies. In 1764,
the Sugar Act put duties on sugar, molasses, and similar goods. The next year, the Stamp Act
placed taxes on paper products such as newspapers and pamphlets. The Stamp Act was repealed
in 1766 due to its poor reception, and replaced with the Townshend Acts in 1767.
The Townshend Acts kept the taxes on tea while adding additional taxes for china, glass,
lead, paint, and tea. It was accompanied by the Declaratory Act, passed the previous year, which
stated that the British government may tax the American colonies to the same extent they tax
their own country. The Townshend Act went the way of the Stamp Act, being repealed in 1770
due to boycotts. All of the taxes on the affected products were lifted, save for the one on tea.
After the Townshend Act ended, while the majority of Americans still refused to drink
tea, many still did. Some of the tea was smuggled from the Netherlands, a cheaper alternative to
, its legally imported counterpart. These illegal sales cut into the East India Company’s bottom
line, which was problematic because they served as the backbone of the British economy. This
caused Parliament to pass the Tea Act in 1773 as a way to bail out the company.
Unintuitively, the Tea Act did not increase the tax of tea in the colonies. This act allowed
the East India Company to ship its tea directly to America without the previously required
docking in England beforehand. It also commissioned the agents who sold the tea to the
colonists. This act dropped the tax that the East India Company would have otherwise paid to
England, resulting in lowered tea prices in the American colonies. Despite the discounted goods,
the colonists began their boycotts once more. They were peeved about the monopoly Britain was
attempting to create.
Out of these protests came the Sons of Liberty, a patriot group consisting of merchants,
tradesmen, and revolutionists. Chaired by John Adams, the Sons of Liberty’s main goal was to
protest King George III’s and Parliament's taxation of the colonies. At the time of the Tea Act, its
main target was the arrival of three tea ships, the Dartmouth, the Beaver, and the Eleanor.
Ironically, the Beaver and the Eleanor were both American-built and owned ships. The same
morning they came they were swarmed by colonists on the surrounding wharf who refused to
comply with the taxation, as well as refusing the unloading, storage, sale, or use of the goods.
On the same December 16th night, an estimated hundred men boarded the ships dressed
as native americans and threw 342 chests of tea overboard into the Boston harbor. This took
