Boston Tea Party Essay

The Boston Tea party Isn't actually a " Tea Party" per say it was something completely different. The Boston tea party was more like a rebellion by colonists against the taxation of tea and other commodities that was imposed by the British government . It is known as a tea party because pounds and pounds and pounds of tea were dumped in the Boston Harbor. As a result of this the intolerable acts were created. There were also 3 ships and many people involved , This event took place in the winter in the year of 1773. ( Ariana Mack )

The Boston tea party took place on the night of December 16, 1773 it was a political protest that was led my Samuel Adams and the sons of liberty, they are known as American patriots . They posed as

Mohawk Indians as they snuck onto 3 Ships that were docked in the harbor and dumped 342 chests of tea in the Boston Harbor. The tea that was dumped belonged to the British East India Company. The Three ships that were docked in the Harbor were called The Beaver , The Dartmouth , and The Eleanor. The beaver and Dartmouth were whalers and the Eleanor was a completely full rigged ship. Before the ships were invaded by the sons of liberty , They had just sailed to America from London and were carrying cargo for the British east India company. Even though the ships came from the London to American , each ship was handcrafted and made in the United States of America. The reason for them posing as Mohawk Indians was to Throw them off and also to frame people for stuff that they never did. That was also the start of many wars that were between Native Americans and the British as well. (Ariana Mack)
In 1767 the Townshed act was passed by parliament along with imposing duties on Carrie ties of products imported into the British colonies raised havoc. There was also a lot of colonial protest and non- compliance , it was so bad that they had to repeal the townshed act in the year of 1770. By repealing in 1770 they saved the duty on tea , which was later on retained by parliament to show their accustomed rights to raise the colonial revenue without the approval of the colonists. The merchants from Boston counteracted the act by still receiving tea and other items from the Dutch traders through smuggling. ( the editors of encyclopedias Britanncia)

The midnight raid or " Boston Tea party" was a a protest against British Parliament and their tea Act of 1773 "No Taxation without representation " , a bill that was designed to save the faltering east India company by lowering its tea tax significantly and granting them a virtual monopoly on the tea trade of America.

The tea act also gave them and exemption on the export tax and a refund or " drawback" . The low tax game the east India company the opportunity to undercut many things even tea that was smuggled into America but the Dutch traders. Many people saw this as a another example of Taxation tyranny. When the 3 ships I mentioned earlier arrived in the Boston harbor the colonists demanded that the tea that was cargo on the ships be returned back to England immediately. Then that's when the governor of Massachusetts got involved. The royal governor Hutchinson chose to uphold the law and maintained that the 3 ships should be able to continue depositing their cargo and and all appropriate duties should continue to be honored. When governor Thomas Hutchinson refused to return the tea , that's when Samuel Adams took action. He got around 60 members from the sons of liberty which is his underground resistance group , and then that's when he created the " Tea Party" . The group of men were heavily influenced by the Bostonians. Samuel Adams and his men dressed in donned blankets ,face paint , and Indian head dresses , they marched to griffin warfs and got onto all 3 of the ships that was when they emptied all of the team upon the boats into the Harbor . The amount of tea that Samuel Adams and the sons of liberty dumped into the harbor equated to $18,000. The tea that was sent to the colonies was meant to only be sold on the east India company boats and only through the east India company. This was for them to bypass the independent colonies shippers and merchants. That was so that the company could then sell the tea at lower costs in both America and

Britain. This perception of monopoly is what led the usually conservative colonial merchants into an alliance with radicals also know as the sons of liberty. ( History Channel / The editors of encyclopedias Brittancia) In other cities such as Philadelphia , New York and also Charelston tea agents took back or cancelled their orders and the merchants refused consignment. ( History Channel)

Many of the participants in the midnight raid fled Boston immediately after the event took place to avoid being arrested. As remembered by George Hewes one of the members of the sons of liberty , "we then quietly retired to our several places of residence , without having any conversation with each other or taking any measure to discover who were our associates... There appeared to be an understanding that each individual should volunteer his services, keep his own secret , and risk the consequences of himself. No disorder took place during the transaction , and it was at that time that the stillest night ensured that Boston had enjoyed for many months". ( George Hewes , Boston Tea Party Ship)

The cops only caught one of the sons of liberty and his name was Francis Akeley. He was then imprisoned for his participation in the dumping of the tea into the harbor. He is also the only person ever in history to be arrested for participation in the Boston tea party. The good news is that there were no deaths during the midnight raid , there was also not any kind of violence or confrontation between that different groups of people. All of the crew members on each of the three boats remained unharmed during the entire chaotic event.

The Boston tea party was the very first organized event of rebellion against The British rule , The sons of liberty were very cautious about the way they executed this plan and rebellion. The news of this act then spread and Paul Revere road all the way to manhattan , New York he arrived in December 21st. He informed the people of manhattan about the Boston tea party and also he relayed a message Boston committee of correspondence sent to New York. The news that was sent is as follows " We had a greater meeting of the Body than ever. The country coming in from Twenty Miles round , and every step was taken that was practicable for returning the teas. The moment it was known out of Doors , that Mr. Rotch could not obtain a Pass for his ship by the castle , a number of people huzza'd into the street , and in a short matter of time , every ounce of tea on board of Captain Hall , Bruce , and Coffin , was immersed in the bay, without the least bit of injury to private property. The spirit of the people on this occasion surprised all parties, who viewed the scene." ( Boston tea party ship)

The Harbor smelled a great deal for weeks and weeks after the dumping of the tea due to the fact that there was 92,000 pounds of tea now submerged in it. To prevent the salvaging of the east India company from time to time the rebels would take boats and ride in the harbor and poke down the left over crates of tea and tea that is floating on the top in an effort to push it to the bottom. The news of the Boston tea party made it to London, England by January 20,1774. As a result of the tea party the British shut down the harbor until every single one of the 342 chests of tea were payed for. This was an Act that implemented inside of the intolerable acts of 1774 , This little group of acts were known as the Boston Port Acts. Along with the Boston Port Acts the intolerable acts also carried along the Massachusetts government act , the administration of justice act , the quartering act and last but not least the Quebec act. The intolerable acts were also referred to as the coercive acts. These acts established military rule in Massachusetts, required colonists to house British troopers and also made the British officials used to criminal prosecution in the United States of America. ( Boston Tea Party Ships)

The American colonists came back with more protesting and coordinated resistance by creating the very first continental congress in September and October of 1774. They did this to petition Britain in an effort to repeal the intolerable acts. The effort that the British government made to single out Massachusetts as a punishment didn't work out to well. This only united the colonies and gave them a bigger step forward towards war. This also led to the begging of the American Revolution which also took place in Massachusetts, But this revolution took place on April 19,1775.

Work cited

Networks , A&E Television " 1773 Boston Tea Party" 2017
May 2,2017

< http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-boston-tea-party >

Britannica , The editors of Encyclopedia " Boston Tea Party United States History" 2017
May 8, 2017

Museums , Boston Tea party and ships " Boston Tea party a Revolutionary Experience" 2016 May 10 , 2017
< https://www.bostonteapartyship.com/the-aftermath>

Boston Tea Party

Ariana Mack
English 2
Mrs. Phillips
5/10/17
Outline
Intro
Boston tea party
Townshed act
Midnight Raid
Samuel Adams
a. Sons of Liberty
George Hewes
Francis Akeley
Paul Revere
British shut down trading ports
Intolerable acts ( Coercive Acts)
A. Boston Ports Act
Massachusetts government act
Quebec act
Quartering act
Continental Congress
American Revolution