The Boston Tea Party is an event that led to the occupation of Boston by British soldiers. The Tea Act of 1773 was one of the final acts that led to the true rebellion of the patriots living in and around Boston. The Tea Act was an attempt at saving the British East India Company from going bankrupt. Because of poor management and a surplus of tea, the company would fail soon without outside assistance. Britain gave this assistance by allowing a virtual monopoly on the importation of tea to the American colonies. The colonists viewed this as a grievous offense.

Governor Thomas Hutchinson allowed three ships to land in Boston Harbor with shipments of tea. Once the tea was unloaded, the colonial government had to pay the tax. Because of this, protests ensued. The tea was to sit on board the ships until an agreement was met. The colonists met at Old South Meeting House for nearly three weeks to discuss the next step and to try and form an agreement. The meetings are known as “The Body of the People,” partly because the series of meetings had an unprecedented amount of people and people who were typically not allowed to attend town meetings were present. During the meetings, the owner of the Dartmouth, Francis Rotch, participated to peacefully end the trouble. Unfortunately, the Governor would not allow Rotch to take his ship and leave, as he wanted. John Singleton Copley was also present trying to help mediate an agreement. Copley was married to the daughter of a Boston merchant who was one of the seven to take control of the tea once it was unloaded. All attempts at an agreement failed.

When it was clear the government would not bend, the people took action. The Sons of Liberty marched to the wharf and unloaded nearly 90,000 pounds of tea into Boston Harbor. Because they destroyed the tea, Britain passed the Coercive Acts, known by the Americans as the Intolerable Acts. The acts intended to destroy the opposition in Boston that was spreading to the other colonial cities. Essentially, the acts shut down Boston Harbor to trade and put the government fully under the control of the Crown. 

By: Jessica McKenzie

Credits and Sources:

Massachusetts Historical Society. “The Boston Tea Party.” Massachusetts Historical Society. Accessed September 18, 2016. https://www.masshist.org/revolution/teaparty.php

O’Connor, Thomas H. Boston: A to Z. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2000.

O’Connor, Thomas H. The Hub: Boston Past and Present.Boston, MA: Northeastern University Press, 2001.

Old South Meeting House. “A Short History of the Boston Tea Party.” Old South Meeting House. Accessed September 18, 2016. http://www.oldsouthmeetinghouse.org/history/boston-tea-party/how-boston-tea-party-began

USHistory.org. “The Tea Act and Tea Parties.” Independence Hall Association in Philadelphia. Accessed September 18, 2016. http://www.ushistory.org/us/9f.asp