Causes Of The Boston Tea Party

The American settlers were left at outlaws and out of sovereignty protection under King George III of England while still able to be charge for breaking British reforms and laws such as smuggling across the Trans-Atlantic trade routes after August 1775. These goods included tea, coffee and other raw goods that supplied England’s industry and production of goods causing a disruption in slave trade and income through transnational trade which vital to the upkeep of the colonies during times of financial difficulties such as the introduction of the Stamp Act of 1765 on all documentations and newspaper to finance Britain’s Seven Years' War between 1756 and 1763. Another significant event, The Boston Tea Party of 1773 due to the taxation under the Tea Act depicts the civil unrest of colonists against the British Parliament and to regain rights to trade without taxation. The need to sever ties with England not only signalled the transition from colonialists to become freed men but during the American Revolutionary War it allowed the equality of colonialists as equal men thus it is the liberal ideals and the post-colonial attitudes created by mistreatment of the government that highlight the outcome of this rebellious period.

The Intolerable Acts, otherwise known as the “Coercive” Acts, caused the most unrest among the colonies and led to the American Revolution during the 1700’s. In 1733, Parliament passed the Tea Act. This made it so that colonists could only buy tea from the British East Indies Company. Even though the Tea Act lowered the price of tea, the colonists thought of it as another restriction of their freedom. A group of opposers, dressed as American Indians, threw three-hundred forty chests of tea into the Boston Harbor. The British were enraged and passed the Intolerable Acts. This gave the British all control over Massachusetts and forced colonists to pay back the money for the tea they ruined. Although the Coercive Acts only applied to Massachusetts,

On April 27, 1773, the British Parliament passed the Tea Act, which was supposed to, as History’s article, “Tea Act,” states, “was not to raise revenue from the colonies but to bail out the floundering East India Company, a key actor in the British economy.” The colonists viewed the Act as another example of the British Parliament abusing taxation. To further express the colonists’ hatred towards the Tea Act, John Green explains in his YouTube video, “Taxes & Smuggling - Prelude to Revolution: Crash Course US History #6,” that “Some colonists were upset that cheap tea would cut into the profits of smugglers and established tea merchants, but most were just angry on principle.” At the time, tea was just as equally an important beverage to both the colonists and the British, and having the British tax the tea showed

They formed many groups and executed riots to protest against this serious disregard of human rights and pride. One way they combated this crude injustice was The Boston Tea Party. At this time, Britain was taxing America’s tea heavily, an imposition that the colonists did not agree to. Rebels involved were members of The Sons of Liberty, colonists vying for freedom and individual rights. The rebels dressed as Native Americans and stormed an incoming boat carrying a fresh load of tea. They dumped the tea into the Boston Harbor as a form of protest; a refusal to pay Britain’s taxes. John Adam, in The Boston Tea Party (Doc. 2) concludes that Britain’s actions have created a much larger and public form of protest. More rebels were coming out into the open as the revolution gains momentum. This proves that the taxation aggravated the colonists as the abuse accumulated, urging them towards rebellion. Colonists also took up tarring as a form of discipline as a response to taxes created during the Stamp Acts. Angry Americans poured hot tar over tax collectors and covered them in feathers to express their displeasure at the imposed taxes. Those fortunate enough to avoid this public humiliation fled or became too scared to go about their collecting duties. In a letter from John Hancock regarding the Stamp Act (Doc. 4), he stresses that these taxes wrongly pressed upon them didn’t have to be

At the time tea was the most popular non-alcoholic drink in the world, and consequently, was highly taxed. All tea which was being sent to America was first shipped through England. By the time the tea made it to America, the price was through the roof. In response to the high price of tea, many merchants began smuggling the tea into America and selling it at a discounted price to the colonists. This system worked well until the Tea Act was passed. The Tea Act lowered the import tax on tea, and imposed a small tax on the tea itself. Unfortunately, the colonists did not react as well as the English hoped. Merchants felt threatened by the tax as many of their businesses relied on smuggled tea to turn a profit. The colonists also reacted negatively, believing that Britain was unfairly imposing a tax which they had to right to impose. In retaliation, American colonists dressed as Indians and dumped 342 chests of tea from British merchant ships into Boston Harbour, and again, nine days later in Delaware, colonists dumped over 700 chests. The British, rightly outraged by the actions of the colonists, imposed the Coercive Acts: 1) the King closed Boston Harbour until all the dumped tea was payed for, 2) the Massachusetts charter was annulled, and the governor council was reappointed by the King, 3) the Quartering Act required homeowners

The colonists had been so angered by all the taxes they’d had to pay, and such little independence they had, they decided they should dump the British’ tea into the harbor. As George Hughes said it, “We then were ordered by our commander to open the hatches and take out all the chests of tea and throw them overboard” (Doc 4). This was a huge turning point for the colonists, which imminently resulted in one of the greatest historic moments of the 1770’s. The colonists, after going through all the taxes and so many of the British’ laws and such, decided that they should finalize the decision and claim their

In the late 1760s, America was dominated completely by Britain. England viewed the colonies as meek and expected obedience towards whatever arbitrary law or tax that was thrown at them. The taxation tyranny fueled a group of men, known as the Sons of Liberty. Also known as tea-partiers, the group of men were viewed as radicals for their paramount dumping of over 300 chests of tea into the Boston Harbor on December 16th, 1773. The Boston Tea Party defined the independence that the colonists were struggling for. Without this event, an act of defiance this crucial may have never occurred and the colonies may have never have found the strength to become a sprawling, thriving nation. Ultimately, many more revolts, riots and boycotts led to the Revolutionary war. The Boston Tea Party was the trailblazer that induced combat and bloodshed, but the colonists couldn't deal with the oppression any longer. The anti-British uproar made the colonies look stronger and more unified. The dumping of the tea was a turning point in America’s relationship with England. The stand The Sons of Liberty, and the colonists, took showed that “The Land of Liberty” was becoming a strong force to be reckoned with on their

The act angered colonial merchants because it only allowed tea to be bought from the East India Company. The issue of “taxation without representation” occurred and was felt even more than before. The colonist and merchants felt that the tax was unconstitutional and boycotted the tea. “...the tea boycott mobilized large segments of the population.” [ The Unfinished Nation, Alan Brinkley pg.102]. This highlights how the colonies were coming together against the British and the mistreatment they have

With anger and hatred growing in the colonists, no one expected the following event to occur, the Boston Massacre. In early colonial times, people wanted freedom and they fought for it hard. They put everything on the line, even their lives. When the colonists thought they didn't get what they deserved, they took to the streets to protest, but this time it ended up in a bloody occurrence. Most people believe that the event started with British soldiers firing into the mob, which ended up wounding many and killing five people. This raised anger and eventually led to a famous trial where John Adams took a brave patriotic stance; he defended the soldiers who took 5 of the colonist's lives. Below is a timeline event of what happened during these times, which illustrates the many reasons why the colonies were upset with England.

The tea act taxed the colonist on imported British tea. The colonist felt that it was unfair for them to be taxed on essential goods such as tea without being represented in parliament. One night the colonist decided to do something about the tea act. It is called the Boston tea party. On December 16, 1773 George Hughes said “...we then were ordered by our commander to open the hatches and take out all the chests of tea and throw them overboard…” (document 4). Colonist dressed as indians snuck onto a British boat and dumped crates of tea into the Boston harbor as a protest to the tea

Taking after the Boston Tea Party, in 1774, the British released the Intolerable Acts of 1774. Under the Intolerable Acts, the Boston Harbor was shut down for all exchanges and renounced the charter that said Boston could govern itself. During the Boston Tea Party, the colonists initiated the violent part of the rebellion. This was the colonists first attempt, to revolt with extreme force against their own legislature. Not only were the colonists outraged by the Intolerable Acts of 1774, but as well as the Tea Act of 1773, in which they rampaged into the British ships that were stationed in the Boston Harbor. These British ships conveyed loads of tea on them. As an indication of protest against the Tea Act of 1773, the colonists disposed all of the tea into the Boston Harbor. To attain freedom, the colonists escaped from their mother country to begin another life in another world, however, the British government didn’t give them the opportunity by controlling them. The Boston Tea Party was the key event at that time, which led to the birth of the United States of

In 1773 the Boston Tea Party occurred, a monumental step in America’s early growth, leading to eventual freedom from Britain. As the British East India Company forced a tea tax on colonists, it would be up to the citizens of America, and patriots like Samuel Adams, to stand up for their rights against the British. They organized themselves enough to partake in a rebellious act, dressing as Native Americans in the night, and destroying an incoming supply of tea. While at the time the disposal of 17 million pounds of tea (Danzer et. al 99) might have seemed a waste, this act would lead to rights for colonists and a revolution, providing America with freedom, thereby causing the Boston Tea Party to be a vital act in the country’s growth.

Sunday of April 7th, 1765, a group of Rhode Island men boarded the Polly and took down the ship of its cargo carrying barrels of molasses from the sugar islands. This happened eight years before the Boston Tea Party, but the problem was the same. The British Parliament placed a tax on the sugar without letting the colonists have a chance to talk it over. This made the Americans enraged. The Americans needed to resist the tax, or they are just slaves to the British. Americans believed they had the right with what they built with their own strength, knowledge and will. They knew they had to obey laws, but only if they had a say in the making of the laws. The Americans would’ve resisted any tax the British put on them but when they taxed sugar,

What lead up to The Boston Massacre? Like many disputes in history this was caused by two things, money and honor. In the 1760's the British Parliament introduced a series of new taxes on the colonies to offset the cost of the Seven Year War that had left them with crippling debt and to cover the expense of the British Soldiers that were stationed in the U.S. With each new series of taxes that were passed tensions among the colonists and the British heightened.

In the early 1770s tea was a major form of import and trade for the British Empire. It was one of the most used consumer goods of this time. During this time in the late 1760s parliament passed a tax affected the shipment of the good. The Townshend act proposed by Charles Townshend suggested that all tea, glasses, paper, paint and lead that is imported into American colonies be taxed. The taxes on tea in Britain were remarkably high, however Americans still paid less than the British consumers did. Americans still rejected this tax on tea as tea played a role in the concept “taxation without representation” (17). To reinforce a source of revenue in the colonies the British kept the tax on tea in place (17). Regarding the role of the East India