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The Tea Party

This boycotting sentiment (read about it on the "Massacre Page") continued until 1773 whereas tea politics were no longer in the limelight. Other factors were that people were smuggling in tea where they had to pay equal duties for smaller quantities. Britain seized the opportunity to begin sending tea to the colonies. However, Lord North stated that only the East India Tea Company could send tea to the colonies. At that time, the East India Company was suffering financially and was struggling to create revenue. However, their new monopoly on tea allowed them to do as they pleased and overtaxed the Colonists such that they had to drink a gallon of tea a day (of course they didn’t).


However, the people once again weren’t as concerned about the tax as they were about the principle behind it. They were not able to control their own mercantilist system. After debates about a final solution, the Son’s of Liberty stepped into the picture. They forced customs officials to resign and eventually they replaced them with new ones who would make an effort to turn back ships.



On November 28, 1773, the British ship Dartmouth docked into Boston Harbor and read its manifest; according to British customs regulations, the ship cannot leave the docks unless they unloaded their goods. This not only rendered the new customs officials useless but also sought for a new plan that would send the British a message. December 16, Josiah Quincy, a prominent son of liberty, gathered about 7000 people at the wharves, and gave them a call to arms, deeming the actions which Britain has taken intolerable. Those people then took immediate action. Later that evening, Bostonians dressed as Narragansett Indians boarded the Dartmouth and threw 342 chests of tea from the boat to the harbor. The event, commonly known as the Boston Tea Party was one of the defining moments of the revolution. It showed the British that the colonists should be taken seriously, and that they were ready to take action.