Essential Question

How did repeated British economic interference result in the Boston Tea Party?

The Tea Act & the Boston Tea Party

Ch 6 Sec 2 Pt III

Another Successful Boycott In April 1770, Parliament

repealed the Townshend Acts Once again, the colonial

boycott worked British trade had been severely

hurt and Parliament backed down

Parliament did keep the tax on tea This was meant to show the

colonists that they still had the right to tax

Anger Over Tea The remaining tea tax

caused animosity among the colonists Many chose not to buy tea

and other products from British merchants Some colonists resorted to

smuggling in tea from Holland

As a result, British tea companies lost large amounts of $

Anger Over Tea In an attempt to save British tea

merchants, Parliament passed the Tea Act of 1773 The law gave one company, The

British East India Co., exclusive rights to sell tea in the colonies The act, again, actually

lowered the price of tea Colonists were still angered,

though, b/c they couldn’t buy, sell, or ship tea through a colonial source Colonial tea merchants were

effectively cut out of the trade

Summary/Quiz Question

Which law was passed specifically to save the British East India Co.?a. Quartering Actb. Tea Actc. Townshend Actsd. Sugar Act

Colonial Unity By this time, colonial leaders

understood the importance of the colonies working together

Samuel Adams urged many MA towns to form “committees of correspondence” These committees wrote letters

in order to: Communicate with neighboring

towns Inform citizens of colonial affairs Plan acts of resistance against the

British

The Boston Tea Party

Protests against the Tea Act took place throughout the colonies In Charleston, NYC, & Philly colonists:

Blockaded British tea ships from unloading or; Unloaded tea & let it rot on the docks

The most famous protest, though, took place in Boston On the evening of Dec 6., 1773 an SOL group

disguised as Mohawks boarded 3 tea ships They proceeded to destroy 342 chests of tea by

dumping them in the harbor

Tea Party Aftermath Colonial leaders offered

to pay for the tea if the Tea Act was repealed Parliament refused, and

decided to “punish” the colonists instead

The aftermath of this decision would send some colonists into open rebellion

Tea Party Punishment The Boston Tea Party infuriated

Parliament KG III decided it was time to

“master” the colonists through punitive measures In 1774, Parliament

passed a series of laws meant to clamp down on colonial resistance

The British called these the Coercive Acts

Summary/Quiz Question

Which of the following was a direct result of the colonists hatred of the Tea Act?a. Boston Massacreb. Proclamation of 1763c. Quartering Actd. Boston Tea Party