The Boston Tea Party was a political protest that occurred on December 16, 1773, at Griffins Wharf in Boston, Massachusetts. American colonists, frustrated and angry at Britain for imposing “taxation without representation,” dumped 342 chests of tea, imported by the British East India Company into the harbor.
What happened at the Boston Tea Party and what was the outcome?
What happened after the Tea Party? Boston Harbor was shut down. As a result of the Boston Tea Party, the British shut down Boston Harbor until all of the 340 chests of British East India Company tea were paid for. This was implemented under the 1774 Intolerable Acts and known as the Boston Port Act.
Was the Boston Tea Party violent?
Boston Tea Party Violence. No one died during the Boston Tea Party. There was no violence and no confrontation between the Patriots, the Tories and the British soldiers garrisoned in Boston. No members of the crews of the Beaver, Dartmouth, or Eleanor were harmed.
Why was the Tea Act 1773 passed?
On April 27, 1773, the British Parliament passes the Tea Act, a bill designed to save the faltering East India Company from bankruptcy by greatly lowering the tea tax it paid to the British government and, thus, granting it a de facto monopoly on the American tea trade.
Why did they dump tea into harbor?
It was an act of protest in which a group of 60 American colonists threw 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor to agitate against both a tax on tea (which had been an example of taxation without representation) and the perceived monopoly of the East India Company.
Why was the tea tax considered unfair?
The colonists resisted the new tax, arguing that only their own elective colonial assemblies could tax them, and that “taxation without representation” was unjust and unconstitutional.
Why did they dump the tea?
American colonists, frustrated and angry at Britain for imposing “taxation without representation,” dumped 342 chests of tea, imported by the British East India Company into the harbor. The event was the first major act of defiance to British rule over the colonists.
Why did they put tax on tea?
The tax on tea had existed since the passing of the 1767 Townshend Revenue Act. The tea tax was kept in order to maintain Parliaments right to tax the colonies. The Tea Act was not intended to anger American colonists, instead it was meant to be a bailout policy to get the British East India Company out of debt.
Why did the colonists dress up as Mohawks?
The disguise was mostly symbolic in nature; they knew they would be recognized as non-Indians. The act of wearing “Indian dress” was to express to the world that the American colonists identified themselves as “Americans” and no longer considered themselves British subjects.
How much money was the tea worth in todays dollars?
The damage the Sons of Liberty caused by destroying 340 chests of tea, in todays money, was worth more than $1,700,000 dollars. The British East India Company reported £9,659 worth of damage caused by the Boston Tea Party.
How long did it take to dump the tea?
It showed that the Sons of Liberty identified with America, over their official status as subjects of Great Britain. That evening, a group of 30 to 130 men, some dressed in the Mohawk warrior disguises, boarded the three vessels and, over the course of three hours, dumped all 342 chests of tea into the water.
Why the Tea Act was bad?
Colonists objected to the Tea Act because they believed that it violated their rights as Englishmen to no taxation without representation, that is, to be taxed only by their own elected representatives and not by a British parliament in which they were not represented.
Why did they throw tea in the harbor?
American colonists, frustrated and angry at Britain for imposing “taxation without representation,” dumped 342 chests of tea, imported by the British East India Company into the harbor. The event was the first major act of defiance to British rule over the colonists.
How much was the tax that caused the Boston Tea Party?
The act granted the EIC a monopoly on the sale of tea that was cheaper than smuggled tea; its hidden purpose was to force the colonists to pay a tax of 3 pennies on every pound of tea. The Tea Act thus retained the three pence Townshend duty on tea imported to the colonies.