Boston Tea Party

The Boston Tea Party, as it came to be known, was a symbolic act in defiance of Britain and a key event in the growth of the American Revolution. It was the culmination of a resistance movement throughout the American colonies against the Tea Act, which had been passed by the British Parliament in 1773. The protests were not only driven by the financial problems related to that imposed taxation but also by an ongoing dispute about the extent, if any, of the British Parliament's authority over the American colonies without the colonies having any elected representation. The event stands as an iconic incident in American history, and other political protests often refer to it.

The roots of the Boston Tea Party are found in the social and political conditions of the North American colonies at the time. Before the outbreak of the Revolution, there were only few links between the 13 British colonies. Neighboring colonies were often hostile to one another, quarrelling over territory and trade. The vote was limited to white, male property owners. The poor, women, and Native and African Americans were excluded.

The 1760s and 1770s were hard times. The economy was depressed, wages were low, and there was not enough work for everyone. Hardship often made poor people angry and ready to join riots against British soldiers, customs officials, and wealthy pro-British Americans. At the bottom of colonial society were the African Americans. They numbered around half a million, about one in five of the population, and almost all were slaves. They had virtually no rights and could be bought and sold as personal property. There were also about 200,000 Native Americans living in and around the 13 colonies; they had no rights and were often considered enemies.

Relations between Britain and the 13 colonies began to worsen after the end of the French and Indian War in 1763, which drove France out of North America. Until then, Britain had paid little attention to its colonies. But now it decided to keep army personnel permanently stationed in North America and wanted the colonies to pay for it. Most Americans resented the army's presence, and none wished to pay the cost of its upkeep. When the British parliament tried to impose taxes on the colonies, the Americans rejected what they called taxation without representation. The Americans believed that people should only pay taxes approved by an assembly that they had elected. Since American citizens had not elected the British parliament, it could not tax them.

In 1773 the smoldering conflict between Britain and the colonies suddenly flared up into an uncontrollable blaze. The spark was the British decision to allow the East India Company to sell tea directly to the American colonies, instead of auctioning it to the middlemen. The price of the tea in the colonies would fall dramatically. But the three-penny import duty on tea imposed in 1767 by the Townshend Acts (a series of laws passed by the British parliament relating to the colonies in North America) remained. As the first ships carrying East India tea arrived in American ports, they met with resistance everywhere. In Boston, events came to a head. In November, three tea-laden ships arrived in the harbor. Local people, urged by radicals such as Samuel Adams and John Hancock, stopped the tea being unloaded. But the governor of Massachusetts, Thomas Hutchinson, refused to let the ships leave port without unloading their cargo. On December 16 a mass meeting was held at Boston's Old South Meeting [Page 382]House. Chaired by Samuel Adams, the meeting called for the three tea-laden ships to leave immediately. The commander of the ships asked Governor Hutchinson for permission to do this, but his request was refused.

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