Colonial America in the years leading up to the American Revolution was an interesting and tumultuous time to live. There are many instances where the colonists clash with their rulers in England, usually regarding taxes imposed on the colonists without their consent. With the benefit of hindsight, you could say that it was like a powder keg with a lit fuse just waiting to blow. Of all the clashes and skirmishes between the colonists and England, I believe that The Boston Tea Party was one of the most important. The actions of a group of men on a cold December night in Boston spoke much louder than words ever could. There are two principle parties involved in The Boston Tea Party. The first are the American colonists; especially those
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In 1767 parliament ratified the Townshend Acts in an effort to cover their costs for governing the colonies. This act placed taxes on goods such as tea, paint, lead, paper, and glass. The colonists once again used nonimportation as their method of reprisal. It was not immediately effective, but in 1770 parliament eliminated the Townshend Act taxes on all the good minus the tea. They were inclined to do this due to seeing significantly smaller profits as the colonists were practicing nonimportation. After parliament rescinded the Townshend Act, the colonists relaxed their policy of nonimportation. Later in 1773, the Tea Act was passed which lower taxes on tea imported by the British. The colonists were unhappy about this because it gave the British a leg up over their competitors in the tea market in the colonies. Displeased with the Tea Act, a large percentage of the colonists intended to boycott the British tea. (Boston Tea Party Historical Society, …show more content…
On November 29th 1773 there signs placed about Boston announcing a meeting at Faneuil Hall discussing a new shipment of tea that had arrived in the harbor. It soon became apparent that there were far too many people once the meeting begun and it was moved to the Old South Meeting-house. The ship the tea arrived on was the Dartmouth and at the conclusion of the meeting it was determined that she would be docked at Griffin’s Wharf where none of the tea was to be unloaded. Twenty citizens were selected to guard the tea while it resided there. The British would not allow the ship to leave the harbor without dropping all her cargo including the tea. On the 14th of December Francis Rotch, the owner of the ship, following another meeting was advised to ask the governor for permission to leave harbor and return the tea to England. Another meeting was held on the 16th of December at the Old South Meeting-house where it was disclosed that the governor had denied Mr. Rotch’s request. Following the disclosure of the denial the meeting quickly dissolved and The Boston Tea Party was about to officially begin. (Boston Tea Party Historical Society,
In 1767 parliament ratified the Townshend Acts in an effort to cover their costs for governing the colonies. This act placed taxes on goods such as tea, paint, lead, paper, and glass. The colonists once again used nonimportation as their method of reprisal. It was not immediately effective, but in 1770 parliament eliminated the Townshend Act taxes on all the good minus the tea. They were inclined to do this due to seeing significantly smaller profits as the colonists were practicing nonimportation. After parliament rescinded the Townshend Act, the colonists relaxed their policy of nonimportation. Later in 1773, the Tea Act was passed which lower taxes on tea imported by the British. The colonists were unhappy about this because it gave the British a leg up over their competitors in the tea market in the colonies. Displeased with the Tea Act, a large percentage of the colonists intended to boycott the British tea. (Boston Tea Party Historical Society, …show more content…
On November 29th 1773 there signs placed about Boston announcing a meeting at Faneuil Hall discussing a new shipment of tea that had arrived in the harbor. It soon became apparent that there were far too many people once the meeting begun and it was moved to the Old South Meeting-house. The ship the tea arrived on was the Dartmouth and at the conclusion of the meeting it was determined that she would be docked at Griffin’s Wharf where none of the tea was to be unloaded. Twenty citizens were selected to guard the tea while it resided there. The British would not allow the ship to leave the harbor without dropping all her cargo including the tea. On the 14th of December Francis Rotch, the owner of the ship, following another meeting was advised to ask the governor for permission to leave harbor and return the tea to England. Another meeting was held on the 16th of December at the Old South Meeting-house where it was disclosed that the governor had denied Mr. Rotch’s request. Following the disclosure of the denial the meeting quickly dissolved and The Boston Tea Party was about to officially begin. (Boston Tea Party Historical Society,