The Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party took place in Boston Massachusetts on the night of December 16, 1773. The revolt caused an uprising against the British government which led to the American Revolutionary War.
In 1765, Parliament passed a law known as the Stamp Act which was the first time they put a major internal tax on the colonies. The colonists thought it was not right for the British government to pass a law taxing them even more since they did not have any representatives in Parliament. The prime minister, George Greenville, explained to a small group of colonial agents that the tax was for the cost of the Indian wars as well as to keep protecting them. The colonists still thought they deserved a say in the government.
Parliament didn't just stop at tax stamps, they raised the taxes on many other staples including tea. Instead of buying tea from the British, the colonists would buy it from Dutch merchants when they came to the harbor. When the British found out about this, they passed a law giving a hundred percent monopoly on tea to the East India Company. After that, the colonies refused to accept any of the shipments of tea except for Boston, because the governor of Massachusetts, Thomas Hutchinson, wanted to uphold the law.
When the colonists learned that a shipment of tea was on ships docked at Griffin's wharf, they decided to protest. They were told they had to get the tea off by the next day. That night, the Sons of Liberty, led by Samuel Adams, disguised as Mohawk Indians, boarded the ships and tossed the 342 chests of tea into the harbor. This was just the start of the victory of a new country.
In 1765, Parliament passed a law known as the Stamp Act which was the first time they put a major internal tax on the colonies. The colonists thought it was not right for the British government to pass a law taxing them even more since they did not have any representatives in Parliament. The prime minister, George Greenville, explained to a small group of colonial agents that the tax was for the cost of the Indian wars as well as to keep protecting them. The colonists still thought they deserved a say in the government.
Parliament didn't just stop at tax stamps, they raised the taxes on many other staples including tea. Instead of buying tea from the British, the colonists would buy it from Dutch merchants when they came to the harbor. When the British found out about this, they passed a law giving a hundred percent monopoly on tea to the East India Company. After that, the colonies refused to accept any of the shipments of tea except for Boston, because the governor of Massachusetts, Thomas Hutchinson, wanted to uphold the law.
When the colonists learned that a shipment of tea was on ships docked at Griffin's wharf, they decided to protest. They were told they had to get the tea off by the next day. That night, the Sons of Liberty, led by Samuel Adams, disguised as Mohawk Indians, boarded the ships and tossed the 342 chests of tea into the harbor. This was just the start of the victory of a new country.