The Boston Tea Party

Boston Tea Party

• The Boston Tea Party was organized by a group of colonists, known as the Sons of Liberty, disguised as Native Americans.
• The purpose of the Boston Tea Party was to protest the Tea Act, which allowed the British East India Company to sell tea directly to the colonies, bypassing local merchants and middlemen.

Opposition to the Tea Act

• American colonists opposed the Tea Act because it gave the British East India Company a monopoly on the tea trade, hurting local merchants and threatening their livelihoods.
• The Tea Act also imposed a tax on tea, which the colonists saw as an extension of British tyranny and a violation of their rights.

British Response

• The British government responded to the Boston Tea Party by passing a series of laws known as the Coercive Acts, designed to punish the colonists and reaffirm British authority.
• These laws closed the port of Boston, restricted town meetings, and allowed British officials accused of crimes to be tried in Britain or other colonies.

Impact of the Boston Tea Party

• The Boston Tea Party marked a significant escalation in the American Revolution, galvanizing opposition to British rule and paving the way for the formation of the Continental Congress.
• The event also inspired similar protests and boycotts throughout the colonies, solidifying American resistance to British rule.