The Boston Tea Party

The Boston Tea Party was an act of resistance by colonists against the British government after passage of the Tea Act 1773. Colonists believed it violated their right to be taxed by only their own representatives. The boycott embattled Royal Governor Thomas Hutchinson, who refused to return rejected tea to Britain and was harassed; his home was ransacked and burned by local organizers. Parliament responded in 1774 by closing Boston's port until the destroyed tea had been compensated for. Colonists continued to protest and convened the First Continental Congress, which petitioned King George for repeal of the acts, but the crisis escalated and by 1775 the American Revolution began at Lexington, MA. At Griffins Wharf on December 16, 1773, local revolutionaries led by Samuel Adams, some masquerading as Mohawk Indians, boarded three ships, broke open the cargo of tea chests, and heaved their contents into the harbor to howls and cheers.

Boston, Massachusetts · United States