The Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was the Spark to the Revolution that changed the colonies forever!
What is it?
What was the Boston Tea Party? A protest against high taxation on tea. But that’s a pretty general statement to make on it. You see, the Boston Tea Party was much more than that. It wasn’t just an act of defiance, but the event that began an idea of a revolution against Great Britain.
During the Act:
In 1773, Great Britain enforced the Tea Act. This act put high taxes on tea without any of the colonist’s consent. Angered by taxation without representation, Samuel Adams and 60 other members of the Sons of Liberty in Massachusetts came together to devise a plan. On December 16, 1773, the men disguised themselves as Mohawk Indians and boarded three British ships that held the incoming shipment of tea. The three ships were the Dartmouth, the Eleanor, and the Beaver. The disguised men dumped 342 chests of tea in the Boston Harbor. The 92,000 pounds of dumped tea was valued around $18,000. Fortunately, no one was killed or injured during the event. Only one member of the Sons of Liberty, Francis Akeley, was arrested and imprisoned by British forces. There was no record of violence or confrontation between the patriots and the British soldiers.
After the event, the men took their oars and pushed down any floating tea to prevent it from being saved and used. This was the first act of a rebellion against Great Britain’s rule. Once word reached King George, he created the Intolerable Acts in his fury. They closed all trade to the Boston Harbor until the owners of the tea were compensated. General Gage, a British general and loyalist, was then appointed governor of Massachusetts. A council for the Roman Catholic Church was created by the king to make decisions for the colonies. The colonists had no say in who was on the council and the decisions they made. But, the Intolerable Acts did not stop the colonists. More rebellious events would occur. The impact of the Boston Tea Party began the idea of the American Revolution and proved to colonies that their voices can be heard.
After the Act