The+Tea+Act,Boston+Tea+Party

=The Tea Act / Boston Tea Party﻿ =



The French and Indian War was very costly and the British government had many war debts to pay off. To raise the money to pay for the debts, the British government taxed the colonists for goods imported. Charles Townshend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, convinced Parliament to again tax the colonists. The law became known as the Townshend Acts and placed taxes on paper, paint, lead, glass, and tea that were imported into America. It also allowed British soldiers to use writs of assistance which meant soldiers could enter any building or home to search for smuggled goods. Due to colonists boycotting British goods, most of the taxes were repealed by 1770 except the tax on tea.

On May 10, 1773 the Tea Act was passed. This act stated that the British East India Company had the complete monopoly, or sole right to sell tea without paying the taxes colonists had to pay. This hurt the colonial merchant’s tea profits which made many colonists angry. Samuel Adams and his committee of correspondence decided to hold a meeting on November 29, 1773 to discuss the Tea Act. They agreed on having 25 colonists stand guard at the Boston Harbor to not allow the British ship, Dartmouth, to unload chests of tea. Later two more ships came called the Eleanor and Beaver. A law stated that ships must unload and pay the taxes in twenty days of arriving or else the British officials would take away the cargo the ship contained. By the twentieth day, the colonists had gotten anxious enough to do something.

On the night of December 16, 1773, in Boston, Massachusetts a group of Patriotic colonists decided to take drastic measures. They left Adam’s meeting and ran out to the Boston Harbor. The colonists disguised themselves as Native Americans and sneaked aboard three British ships docked in the Boston Harbor. They dumped 342 chests of tea into the Boston Harbor. Many colonists all over America celebrated this event. The British government however, was not so happy. In response, Parliament gave out another punishment called the Coercive Acts.

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