The Tea Act and The Boston Tea Party
Tea Act
The Tea Act, established on May 10, 1773, made it so The British East India Company was eligible to be granted a licence to export tea to North America and the Company no longer had to sell its tea at the London Tea Auction. It also made it so duties, charged in Britain, on tea destined for North America would either be refunded on export or not imposed. Finally, The Tea Act made it so consignees receiving the Company's tea were required to pay a deposit upon receipt of tea. The purpose of the Tea Act was to reduce the massive surplus of tea held by East India Company in its London warehouse to help the company survive. Its purpose was also to undercut the price of tea smuggled into the American Colonies, which was supposed to convince colonists to purchase Company tea on which the Townshend duties were paid, implicitly agreeing to accept Parliament's right of taxation. The reason Parliament decided to institute the Tea Act was the British East India Company was close to bankruptcy and they didn't want to see the large company fail. Though the Tea Act lowered the price of tea for the colonists, they were still mad and revolted. Colonists in Philadelphia and New York turned tea ships back to Britain, and, in Charleston, cargo was left to wrought on the docks. As a result of the Tea Act, The Sons of Liberty revolted and this event became known as the Boston Tea Party.
The Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was a political protest against the Tea Act by The Sons of Liberty since the petition over the Tea Act was refused by the King and Parliament. In every colony except Massachusetts, protesters were able to force the tea consignees to resign or return the tea to England, but in Boston, Governor Hutchinson was determined to hold his ground so he convinced the tea consignees not to back down. Dartmouth, a ship at bay at the Boston Harbor, carried tea from England and was forced to stay by the Royal governor rather than going back to England. As a result, Samuel Adams called for a mass meeting to be held on November 29, 1773. Thousands arrived and the meeting ended up passing a resolution urging the captain to send the ship back without paying the duties, but the Governor refused to let the ship leave without paying the duty. Because of this, from 30 to 130 men from The Sons of Liberty dressed as Indians, this in order to show the Sons of Liberty identified with America, not their official status as subjects of Great Britain, and dumped 342 chests of tea from Dartmouth, Eleanor, and Beaver, the other two ships that arrived shortly after Dartmouth, into the Boston Harbor. As a result, the British government closed ports of Boston and put in place laws known as the "Intolerable Acts."
The Tea Act, established on May 10, 1773, made it so The British East India Company was eligible to be granted a licence to export tea to North America and the Company no longer had to sell its tea at the London Tea Auction. It also made it so duties, charged in Britain, on tea destined for North America would either be refunded on export or not imposed. Finally, The Tea Act made it so consignees receiving the Company's tea were required to pay a deposit upon receipt of tea. The purpose of the Tea Act was to reduce the massive surplus of tea held by East India Company in its London warehouse to help the company survive. Its purpose was also to undercut the price of tea smuggled into the American Colonies, which was supposed to convince colonists to purchase Company tea on which the Townshend duties were paid, implicitly agreeing to accept Parliament's right of taxation. The reason Parliament decided to institute the Tea Act was the British East India Company was close to bankruptcy and they didn't want to see the large company fail. Though the Tea Act lowered the price of tea for the colonists, they were still mad and revolted. Colonists in Philadelphia and New York turned tea ships back to Britain, and, in Charleston, cargo was left to wrought on the docks. As a result of the Tea Act, The Sons of Liberty revolted and this event became known as the Boston Tea Party.
The Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was a political protest against the Tea Act by The Sons of Liberty since the petition over the Tea Act was refused by the King and Parliament. In every colony except Massachusetts, protesters were able to force the tea consignees to resign or return the tea to England, but in Boston, Governor Hutchinson was determined to hold his ground so he convinced the tea consignees not to back down. Dartmouth, a ship at bay at the Boston Harbor, carried tea from England and was forced to stay by the Royal governor rather than going back to England. As a result, Samuel Adams called for a mass meeting to be held on November 29, 1773. Thousands arrived and the meeting ended up passing a resolution urging the captain to send the ship back without paying the duties, but the Governor refused to let the ship leave without paying the duty. Because of this, from 30 to 130 men from The Sons of Liberty dressed as Indians, this in order to show the Sons of Liberty identified with America, not their official status as subjects of Great Britain, and dumped 342 chests of tea from Dartmouth, Eleanor, and Beaver, the other two ships that arrived shortly after Dartmouth, into the Boston Harbor. As a result, the British government closed ports of Boston and put in place laws known as the "Intolerable Acts."