History Of Boston Tea Party
In the 18th century, Britain was fighting wars that necessitated it enact many unfavorable policies directed towards the colonies in North America. This resulted in the colonies getting upset and dissenting against British rule. However, the dissent did not start overnight. Many incidences led to the rumbling of unhappiness and soon one or the other form of protest against colonial rule began. One of the most memorable acts of protests that the colonies took was the famous Boston Tea Party. |
Sponsored Links:
|
If a simplistic view has to be taken about the Boston Tea Party, then we can say that discontented colonists dumped crates of tea into the sea at the Boston Harbor. However, there is a lot more to the history of the Boston Tea Party. For people who do not know much about American history, the Boston Tea Party history will give them an insight the start of the American Revolution.
The British Empire had established a colony in India and it traded goods through the East India Company. India was conducive to tea growing and had many tea estates. The tea from these estates were taken and sold in Britain. However, it so happened that the East India Company had a huge stock of tea piled up which it could not sell in Britain. This was causing a lot of financial strain on the company and it was on the verge of going bankrupt. To avert bankruptcy of the company, the British government stepped in and decided to enact the Tea Act of 1773. This act allowed the East India Company to export the tea to the colonies in North America without having to pay taxes, which the local merchants had to pay. This meant that the company would be able to sell its tea cheaper than the colonial merchants and it would be able to take over the entire tea market in North America.
This obviously did not go down well with the merchants in the colonies. They were angry and afraid that they would go bankrupt because of the Tea Act. Furthermore, the East India Company had just selected certain merchants to sell its tea. Hence, many merchants were excluded from making profits. This also angered the merchants. The biggest discontent was about paying taxes without having any representation in the British parliament. The colonists could not understand why they had to pay taxes when they had no say.
The British had thought by introducing the Tea Act of 1773, the price of tea would reduce and this would make the colonists happy. However, this was not to be, as the colonists were so angry that they decided to boycott tea altogether. The boycott stirred up passion and also helped in uniting the different colonies against the British. The masses were mobilized to protest against the act. The protest became so popular that even women joined in.
The protestors hatched a plan to prevent the tea crates from being unloaded onto the ports in the colonies. Besides Boston, agents in all the other ports resigned. This resulted in the ships being sent back to England or the tea crates getting stored in the warehouses located in the ports. Since the agents in Boston did not resign, ships were diverted to Boston, so that the tea shipment could be offloaded at the Boston port. People began protesting this and tried everything in their power to stop three ships from docking at the port. However, the protestors were not successful. So, they hatched another plan -- the famous Boston Tea Party!
On 16 December 1773, a band of men belonging to the Sons of Liberty dressed up as Mohawk Indians went to Griffin's Wharf, where the 3 ships containing the consignment were docked. The disguised men claimed to be longshoremen and with a lot of efficiency immediately got all the crates of tea from the hold onto the deck. So, the authorities relaxed and were thrilled at the work. However, once the tea consignment was brought onto the deck, the disguised men started emptying out the cartons into the sea. By the time morning arrived, around 90,000 pounds of tea had been dumped into the water. The men did not damage anything else on the ships. It is claimed that given the amount of tea leaves that was dumped into the sea, the locals saw tea washing up to the shores of Boston for several weeks thereafter.
This came as a shock to the people. The British as well as the colonial authorities criticized the deed. Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of the United States, even volunteered to pay for the loss with his own money. All ports across Boston were shut down by the British authorities and laws collectively known as Intolerable Acts were passed. However, this did not stop the protestors. They went ahead and burned a cargo vessel called Peggy Stewart.
Historians claim that the Boston Tea Party was instrumental in starting the American Revolution. However, it was all the incidences that led to the Boston Tea Party that were triggers for the revolution. Once the revolution started, it did not stop until the colonist gained their independence from the British and formed the United States of America. Of course, like every fledgling country, this new country had its share of problems. But they were overcome.
Today, the United States epitomizes freedom, liberty and equality. It is thanks to the protestors who staged the Boston Tea Party that the country could unite and fight for its independence. It is because of men like these, today we have an independent country that is free from oppression and unrealistic laws. While there were misgivings from different sections of society about staging the tea party, the people who actually carried it out were never repentant. Their identities were carefully guarded, so that the authorities would not be able to arrest them. Though some of the personalities were well known who took part in the Boston Tea Party, the authorities could not take action against them.
More Articles :
Buzzle: The Boston Tea Party
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/the-boston-tea-party.html
|
Perhaps the most memorable event in the history of the United States is the Boston Tea Party, which took place in the year 1773. A group of around 200 men boarded three ships carrying tea consignment belonging to the British East India Company and threw all the tea into the harbor waters of Boston. It is said that the Boston Tea Party had effects on the history of America, as it led to the American Revolution. 