#16 December 1773

[vox-anglosphere]

The Boston Tea Party: 92,000 lbs of imported tea were thrown overboard 250 years ago tonight, in the lead-up to the American Revolution.

[rabbitcruiser]

Boston Tea Party Day

There were numerous factors that converged to create an environment that was ripe for an event like the Boston Tea Party to take place, which occurred on today's date in 1773. Some of these included the popularity of tea in the colonies, British debt, acts of Parliament that taxed colonists, the Boston Massacre, and the propping up of a British tea company. The Boston Tea Party can be seen as a tipping point that spurred the revolutionary movement forward, which ultimately allowed for the creation of the United States. It is because of its importance to the formation of the country that we mark Boston Tea Party Day.

Although Britain had been victorious in the Seven Years' War (1756-1763), they had accumulated a great national debt and looked to the American colonies for revenue. Parliament instituted taxes on the colonies, the first being the Stamp Act of 1765, which required colonists to pay a tax on printed paper such as newspapers, business cards, and legal documents. Colonists argued that only their representatives in the colonies should have the power to tax them, and that "taxation without representation" was unjust. The Stamp Act was repealed the following year, but the Townshend Acts of 1767 created even more taxes than the Stamp Act, placing them on items such as paper, paint, glass, and tea. The revenue for these taxes was to pay for the salaries of the royal colonial governors. Colonists once again bristled at the idea of being taxed without representation, and they organized boycotts of the taxed goods. Because of this pressure, in April 1770, all of the Townshend Acts except the tax on tea were repealed. The tax on tea was kept as a symbol of Parliament's power and right to levy a tax on the colonies.

Another incident occurred the month before the Townshend Acts were repealed which also raised the discontent of colonists: the Boston Massacre. Colonists had been irritated that British troops were patrolling their streets, and this pent up anger took the form of action when a mob of colonists threw snowballs at a British sentinel who was guarding the Boston Customs House. British reinforcements arrived and the colonists were fired on. Five lost their lives and six more were injured. The colonial frustration that sparked the Boston Massacre only intensified following it.

Colonists drank about 1.2 million pounds of tea a year. With the repeal of the Townshend Acts, boycotting of British tea abated, although some colonists avoided it and drank smuggled Dutch tea instead. Everything changed after Parliament passed the Tea Act in May 1773. This act was created to save the faltering British East India Tea Company and to turn it into a monopoly in the colonies; the act wasn't designed to raise revenue, but to bail out the tea company, which was valuable to Britain's economy. It allowed the British East India Company to sell tea cheaper than anyone else because it stipulated that the tea didn't need to land in England on its way to the colonies, where an additional tax would have had to have been paid. The tea was still taxed at colonial ports, however. Overall, though, the Tea Act lowered the price of tea from the British East India Company, and the company was able to monopolize the market.

Some thought the Tea Act was made as a way to get colonists to accept and support the idea that Parliament could tax colonists. Even though the price of tea was now cheaper for colonists, they were not supportive of the Tea Act. They had never accepted the right of Britain to place duties on tea, and the act reinvigorated their opposition. The act revived the boycotting of tea, and more people began to smuggle Dutch tea, although it was actually more expensive than the British tea. Two of the most prominent tea smugglers were John Hancock and Samuel Adams. The act negatively affected colonial merchants and these merchants and patriot groups like the Sons of Liberty found themselves aligned in opposition to Britain in a way they hadn't prior. Colonists continued to protest against the tea tax and against British control, and in some ports, they were able to force ships with tea from unloading their cargo.

Then, on the night of December 16, 1773, the first major act of resistance to British rule took place, when the Boston Tea Party occurred at Griffin's Wharf in Boston Harbor. The Sons of Liberty, formed of colonial merchants and tradesmen and comprised of noteworthy members such as Samuel Adams, John Hancock, Paul Revere, and Patrick Henry, had been founded to protest taxation, particularly the Stamp Act. They had spoken against Parliament in their meetings, and when the Dartmouth, a ship filled with tea from the British East India Company, came to Griffin's Wharf in 1773, they protested. By mid-December, the ship had been joined by Beaver and Eleanor, which also carried tea. On the morning of December 16, colonists came together in the area around the wharf, and a meeting was held at the Old South Meeting House. They agreed not to pay any taxes on the tea, or to allow it to be unloaded, stored, sold, or used. At the same time, Governor Thomas Hutchinson said the ships could not return to Britain, the tea tariff had to be paid, and that the tea had to be unloaded. Colonists refused all of these demands.

At least 60—and perhaps more than 100—Massachusetts colonists, believed to be part of the Sons of Liberty, disguised themselves as Mohawk American Indians, boarded the ships and dumped 342 crates or chests of tea into Boston Harbor. They split the crates with their tomahawks so that the tea would be exposed when it hit the water. After almost three hours, they had emptied more than 90,000 pounds of tea into the harbor. In today's dollars, the tea would be valued at about $1,000,000. No other damage was done to the ships or other property. It is not known who was all involved, but the event, which became known as the Boston Tea Party, is believed to have been led by Samuel Adams and organized by John Hancock. Most participants were under the age of 40, and some were teenagers. Only one person was arrested and imprisoned: Francis Akeley. Not all of the Founding Fathers were happy with what happened in Boston. George Washington and Benjamin Franklin were not pleased by it, and Franklin believed that the British East India Company should be reimbursed.

In response to the Boston Tea Party, Parliament passed the Coercive Acts, which became known to the colonists as the Intolerable Acts. Britain passed them in hopes that they would keep the colonies from uniting. These acts did a number of things: they closed Boston Harbor until the tea was paid for, they ended the Massachusetts Constitution and repealed Massachusetts' colonial charter, they halted the free elections of town officials in Massachusetts, formal British rule started in Massachusetts and General Thomas Gage—the commander of British forces in North America—was appointed governor, judicial authority in the colonies was moved to Britain, colonists were required to quarter British troops when asked to do so, and French-Canadian Catholics received the freedom of worship, angering many Protestant colonists. Instead of dissuading colonists from uniting, the Intolerable Acts spurred the revolutionary movement. Colonists sent aid to Massachusetts, those with more moderate views became more sympathetic to those held by radicals, and colonists organized the First Continental Congress.

On September 5, 1774, the First Continental Congress convened, when elected delegates from all the colonies except Georgia met in Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia. They wrote the Declaration of Resolves over the following month, which censured Britain for passing the Intolerable Acts and called for their appeal, established a boycott of British goods, declared that the colonies had the right to govern themselves independently, and called for a colonial militia. Less than a year later, the Revolutionary War began. There are many events that factored into the colonial break from Britain and the fight for a new country, but the Boston Tea Party played a large role in putting the colonists on an inextricable path to revolution.

How to Observe Boston Tea Party Day

The following are some ideas on how to to mark the day:

Visit the Boston Tea Party Ship and Museum and the Old South Meeting House. Boston Tea Party Reenactments are often held at these locations on today's anniversary.

Stop at the official Boston Tea Party marker at the corner of Congress and Purchase streets.

Read a book about the Boston Tea Party.

Host a party and drink some tea, or dump whatever tea you have into water.

Source

[76historylover]

me and the boys at night tipping shipments of tea into the harbor, no big deal!

[museum-of-artifacts]

One of two known surviving tea chests from the December 16, 1773, Boston Tea Party when 340 tea chests were dumped into Boston Harbor by rebelling colonists.

[whencyclopedia]

Boston Tea Party

The Boston Tea Party was an act of political protest carried out by American colonists on 16 December 1773, in Boston, Massachusetts. Disguised as Mohawk Native Americans, the colonists dumped 342 crates of tea into Boston Harbor to protest both a tax on tea and the monopoly of the British East India Company on the tea trade.

Continue reading...

[grits-galraisedinthesouth]

What Happened on December 16th, 1773?

One of the most important dates in the history of the United States of America. On this night, the Sons of Liberty dumped more than 300 crates of East India Company tea into Boston Harbor. To many who were still loyal to the crown, this was an act of sedition and treason by “ill designing men”. But to those whose loyalty to King George III—and his taxes—had faltered; this was a galvanizing event. Bostonians from all statuses and walks of life came together, as equal citizens, to make a peaceful protest against tyranny and taxation without representation. It was their patriotism that sparked the American Revolution.

For years, the colonies had been taxed without receiving equal representation in Parliament. The first direct tax on the colonies was the Stamp Act of 1765, taxing all paper goods. This would be followed by the Townsend Acts which taxed glass, lead, paint, and tea. This taxation without representation led to protests, riots, and further unrest in an already tense city.

The Boston Tea Party was the culmination of a series of meetings beginning on November 29, 1773—two days after the first of the three ships bearing East India Company tea arrived in Boston Harbor. The arrival of the Dartmouth, with her 114 chests of tea on board, sent Boston into a frenzy. The Sons of Liberty demanded the tea be sent back to England, but those requests were refused by Royal Governor Thomas Hutchinson.

A few days later, the ship Eleanor and brig Beaver arrived with more cargoes of tea. With the deadline to unload the tea looming, Bostonians met at Old South Meeting House on Thursday December 16, 1773 to decide the fate of the cursed East India Company Tea. It was still the hope of those assembled that a peaceable agreement could be reached. Francis Rotch, owner of the Beaver and Dartmouth, was sent to Milton to obtain a pass from the Royal Governor so that his ships could be sent safely past the guns of Castle Island, and back to England with the tea still onboard. When Rotch returned and gave word that this request was denied, a mighty cry echoed through the historic hall. Samuel Adams stood up and said “This meeting can do nothing more to save the country.” This was a secret signal to the Sons of Liberty. They sprang into action as hundreds of men, loosely disguised as Mohawks, marched to Griffin’s Wharf and into history.

Copyright © 2023 December16.org

[bignaz8]

One of two known surviving tea chests from the December 16, 1773, Boston Tea Party when 340 tea chests were dumped into Boston Harbor by rebelling colonists.

[yaggy031910]

The napoleonic marshal‘s children

After seeing @josefavomjaaga’s and @northernmariette’s marshal calendar, I wanted to do a similar thing for all the marshal’s children! So I did! I hope you like it. c: I listed them in more or less chronological order but categorised them in years (especially because we don‘t know all their birthdays). At the end of this post you are going to find remarks about some of the marshals because not every child is listed! ^^“ To the question about the sources: I mostly googled it and searched their dates in Wikipedia, ahaha. Nevertheless, I also found this website. However, I would be careful with it. We are talking about history and different sources can have different dates. I am always open for corrections. Just correct me in the comments if you find or know a trustful source which would show that one or some of the dates are incorrect. At the end of the day it is harmless fun and research. :) Pre 1790

François Étienne Kellermann (4 August 1770- 2 June 1835) 

Marguerite Cécile Kellermann (15 March 1773 - 12 August 1850)

Ernestine Grouchy (1787–1866)

Mélanie Marie Josèphe de Pérignon (1788 - 1858)

Alphonse Grouchy (1789–1864)

Jean-Baptiste Sophie Pierre de Pérignon (1789- 14 January 1807)

Marie Françoise Germaine de Pérignon (1789 - 15 May 1844)

Angélique Catherine Jourdan (1789 or 1791 - 7 March 1879)

1790 - 1791

Marie-Louise Oudinot (1790–1832)

Marie-Anne Masséna (8 July 1790 - 1794)

Charles Oudinot (1791 - 1863)

Aimee-Clementine Grouchy (1791–1826)

Anne-Francoise Moncey (1791–1842)

1792 - 1793

Bon-Louis Moncey (1792–1817)

Victorine Perrin (1792–1822)

Anne-Charlotte Macdonald (1792–1870)

François Henri de Pérignon (23 February 1793 - 19 October 1841)

Jacques Prosper Masséna (25 June 1793 - 13 May 1821)

1794 - 1795

Victoire Thècle Masséna (28 September 1794 - 18 March 1857)

Adele-Elisabeth Macdonald (1794–1822)

Marguerite-Félécité Desprez (1795-1854); adopted by Sérurier

Nicolette Oudinot (1795–1865)

Charles Perrin (1795–15 March 1827)

1796 - 1997

Emilie Oudinot (1796–1805)

Victor Grouchy (1796–1864)

Napoleon-Victor Perrin (24 October 1796 - 2 December 1853)

Jeanne Madeleine Delphine Jourdan (1797-1839)

1799

François Victor Masséna (2 April 1799 - 16 April 1863)

Joseph François Oscar Bernadotte (4 July 1799 – 8 July 1859)

Auguste Oudinot (1799–1835)

Caroline de Pérignon (1799-1819)

Eugene Perrin (1799–1852)

1800

Nina Jourdan (1800-1833)

Caroline Mortier de Trevise (1800–1842)

1801

Achille Charles Louis Napoléon Murat (21 January 1801 - 15 April 1847)

Louis Napoléon Lannes (30 July 1801 – 19 July 1874)

Elise Oudinot (1801–1882)

1802

Marie Letizia Joséphine Annonciade Murat (26 April 1802 - 12 March 1859)

Alfred-Jean Lannes (11 July 1802 – 20 June 1861)

Napoléon Bessière (2 August 1802 - 21 July 1856)

Paul Davout (1802–1803)

Napoléon Soult (1802–1857)

1803

Marie-Agnès Irma de Pérignon (5 April 1803 - 16 December 1849)

Joseph Napoléon Ney (8 May 1803 – 25 July 1857)

Lucien Charles Joseph Napoléon Murat (16 May 1803 - 10 April 1878)

Jean-Ernest Lannes (20 July 1803 – 24 November 1882)

Alexandrine-Aimee Macdonald (1803–1869)

Sophie Malvina Joséphine Mortier de Trévise ( 1803 - ???)

1804

Napoléon Mortier de Trévise (6 August 1804 - 29 December 1869)

Michel Louis Félix Ney (24 August 1804 – 14 July 1854)

Gustave-Olivier Lannes (4 December 1804 – 25 August 1875)

Joséphine Davout (1804–1805)

Hortense Soult (1804–1862)

Octavie de Pérignon (1804-1847)

1805

Louise Julie Caroline Murat (21 March 1805 - 1 December 1889)

Antoinette Joséphine Davout (1805 – 19 August 1821)

Stephanie-Josephine Perrin (1805–1832)

1806

Josephine-Louise Lannes (4 March 1806 – 8 November 1889)

Eugène Michel Ney (12 July 1806 – 25 October 1845)

Edouard Moriter de Trévise (1806–1815)

Léopold de Pérignon (1806-1862)

1807

Adèle Napoleone Davout (June 1807 – 21 January 1885)

Jeanne-Francoise Moncey (1807–1853)

1808: Stephanie Oudinot (1808-1893) 1809: Napoleon Davout (1809–1810)

1810: Napoleon Alexander Berthier (11 September 1810 – 10 February 1887)

1811

Napoleon Louis Davout (6 January 1811 - 13 June 1853)

Louise-Honorine Suchet (1811 – 1885)

Louise Mortier de Trévise (1811–1831)

1812

Edgar Napoléon Henry Ney (12 April 1812 – 4 October 1882)

Caroline-Joséphine Berthier (22 August 1812 – 1905)

Jules Davout (December 1812 - 1813)

1813: Louis-Napoleon Suchet (23 May 1813- 22 July 1867/77)

1814: Eve-Stéphanie Mortier de Trévise (1814–1831) 1815

Marie Anne Berthier (February 1815 - 23 July 1878)

Adelaide Louise Davout (8 July 1815 – 6 October 1892)

Laurent François or Laurent-Camille Saint-Cyr (I found two almost similar names with the same date so) (30 December 1815 – 30 January 1904)

1816: Louise Marie Oudinot (1816 - 1909)

1817

Caroline Oudinot (1817–1896)

Caroline Soult (1817–1817)

1819: Charles-Joseph Oudinot (1819–1858)

1820: Anne-Marie Suchet (1820 - 27 May 1835) 1822: Henri Oudinot ( 3 February 1822 – 29 July 1891) 1824: Louis Marie Macdonald (11 November 1824 - 6 April 1881.) 1830: Noemie Grouchy (1830–1843) —————— Children without clear birthdays:

Camille Jourdan (died in 1842)

Sophie Jourdan (died in 1820)

Additional remarks: - Marshal Berthier died 8.5 months before his last daughter‘s birth. - Marshal Oudinot had 11 children and the age difference between his first and last child is around 32 years. - The age difference between marshal Grouchy‘s first and last child is around 43 years. - Marshal Lefebvre had fourteen children (12 sons, 2 daughters) but I couldn‘t find anything kind of reliable about them so they are not listed above. I am aware that two sons of him were listed in the link above. Nevertheless, I was uncertain to name them in my list because I thought that his last living son died in the Russian campaign while the website writes about the possibility of another son dying in 1817. - Marshal Augerau had no children. - Marshal Brune had apparently adopted two daughters whose names are unknown. - Marshal Pérignon: I couldn‘t find anything about his daughters, Justine, Elisabeth and Adèle, except that they died in infancy. - Marshal Sérurier had no biological children but adopted Marguerite-Félécité Desprez in 1814. - Marshal Marmont had no children. - I found out that marshal Saint-Cyr married his first cousin, lol. - I didn‘t find anything about marshal Poniatowski having children. Apparently, he wasn‘t married either (thank you, @northernmariette for the correction of this fact! c:)

[miguel-manbemel]

Whatever Happened that Day?

Inspired by an incorrect quote by @dikdikpronouncedxylophone .

[msnikkimoneypenny]

December 16, 1773 The Boston Tea Party

August 5, 2023 Montgomery Sweet Tea Party

[pub-lius]

aaron burr pt. 1

hey y’all.... how y’all doing.......

so ive been gone for a while. sorry about that. but! i have a lot of posts to work on. i only have three more historical figures to do for @thereallvrb0y because i love him, and then imma post my notes from A People’s History of the French Revolution by Eric Hazan, so i am back. anyway, it’s burr time

but before i get into everyone’s favorite bisexual with a receding hairline, i have to give a little disclaimer. these notes are OLD. like from 2020 old, and while I always trust my sources, i don’t trust my ability to read my own handwriting, so if you go on the google doc and see Burr’s notes and you’re like “this makes no sense”, i don’t understand what i meant either. they’re also the most disorganized notes i have, but im not taking them again so. this is what we’re stuck with besties. 

The Start of the Shitshow

Aaron Burr Jr. was born at Newark, New Jersey on February 6, 1756. His father was a highly respected clerical scholar who served as a pastor of the Newark First Presbyterian Church and as president of Princeton University. He contracted a fever and died when his son was only one and a half. His mother was a daughter of noted Puritan theologian and scholar Jonathan Edwards, who was remembered for his passionate speeches. She died when he was two, so he got the whole orphan arc over with very quickly. 

He and his sister, Sally, lived with family friends until 1759 when Uncle Timmy Edwards of Stockbridge Massachusetts became their legal guardian and local pain in the ass. He was highkey abusive and we don’t like him. They moved to Elizabethtown, New Jersey in 1760, and Uncle Fuckface noticed that Burr had inherited his parents’ intellect, but not their piety, because he was too busy serving cunt to pray. He was also described as high-spirited, independent, precocious, and self confident, which sounds about right.

He had a fairly advanced education, studying with a private tutor until he was 13 when he got into Princeton, and he graduated from there at 16, which was round the age of most freshmen there, so that’s pretty sick. He enrolled in Reverend Joseph Bellamy’s school at Bethlehem, Connecticut in 1773 to study ministry, until he realized he couldn’t accept the Calvanist discipline nor avoid the distraction of the town, or maybe just got tired of the highly not okay gay relationship with Bellamy, so he moved to Litchfield, Connecticut in May 1774 to study law under his brother-in-law, Tapping Reeve. (Burr moves around so much, I never know where this mf is at any given point). \

Burr didn’t get his degree in law (yet *foreshadowing noise*) because his studies were interrupted by the revolution

The War *eagle screech and fireworks*

Burr joined the march on Quebec as an uncompensated “gentleman volunteer” in 1775. During the December 31 assault, he attempted to carry General Montgomery’s body back after he had been shot and killed by grapeshot, which won him an aide-de-campship to Washington’s staff. However, he was almost immediately reassigned to General Isreal Putnam because he didn’t like Washington’s office, which I can’t blame him because we all knew that shit was stressful. Washington also didn’t seem to like Burr much, but like Joseph Reed worked there, so Washington obviously wasn’t firing people bc he didn’t like them. 

Under Putnam, he received a commission as a Lieutenant Colonel and commanded his own regiment, which was a vast improvement to the rank as one of Washington’s aides, because they weren’t considered actual Lt. Colonels and they were constantly at a desk, which Burr would not tolerate. He saw action at Monmouth, and his regiment suffered heavy casualties, and he was also ordered by Washington to determine future movements of the British in New York. He commanded troops at Westchester, NY, and imposed rigid discipline that brought order to the frontier outpost. 

He resigned his commission in 1779 due to stress and exhaustion. This was a pretty great military career, and he was proud of it. People called him “Colonel Burr” even after his service. 

After the war

He traveled often after leaving the army and continued his law studies. In 1782, he began his law practice and married Theodosia Bartow Prevost, a widow of a British officer he had been hardcore flirting with. Their wedding was actually unplanned, bc her sister was getting married and Burr was invited so they were like “why have two bitches get married when you can have four” so they had a cute little double wedding. 

Burr moved to New York in November, 1783 after the British evacuation, along with Burr’s two stepsons and their infant daughter, who lavished special attention on his only child and supervised her education. If you want more info on Theodosia Jr., I answered an ask about here here. 

Burr was an able lawyer, working mainly for non-whigs (loyalists/tories, neutral parties during the war). This worked in his favor and he rose to prominence. This is around when he began his famously neutral political philosophy, the whole “don’t let them know what you’re against or what you’re for” thing Lin Manuel Miranda is obsessed with. 

He served a single term in the New York assembly during the 1784-85 session, and left public life until 1788, when he played a minor role in the NY debate over ratification of the Constitution. The Sons of Liberty (bc they’re still around apparently) considered Burr as a possible delegate to the ratification convention, but he declined. He had some reservations over the Constitution, but abandoned them when a majority of the states ratified it. 

He supported Richard Yates along with Alexander Hamilton during the 1789 gubernatorial election. Yates was an anti-federalist and a friend who helped Burr win admission to the Bar (which btw there was this whole thing about Burr fighting so that college credits before the war didn’t have to be retaken after the war or whatever idk i can’t remember). Yates lost to George Clinton, who appointed Burr as attorney general in 1781, so he didn’t really lose anything. 

Clinton also helped orchestrate Burr’s Senate election in 1791, unseating Philip Schuyler. Now, this did cause beef between him and Hamilton, like in the musical, but this wasn’t their first beef, especially since Burr dueled Hamilton’s brother-in-law soooooooo...

Also, during this time, Burr’s daughter, Sally, died in October 1788 at three years old and four months of an unspecified (i think) illness. 

Okay, that’s it for now, but the other posts are coming soon because I’m literally dedicating the next to days to this and only this so yay! hope y’all missed me <3 

[dikdikpronouncedxylophone]

Logan: What important event took place on December 16, 1773? Janus: I do not believe in linear time. There is no past and future: all is one, and existence in the temporal sense is illusory. This question, therefore, is meaningless and impossible to answer. Janus: When in doubt, deny all terms and definitions.

[rabbitcruiser]

Boston Tea Party Day

There were numerous factors that converged to create an environment that was ripe for an event like the Boston Tea Party to take place, which occurred on today’s date in 1773. Some of these included the popularity of tea in the colonies, British debt, acts of Parliament that taxed colonists, the Boston Massacre, and the propping up of a British tea company. The Boston Tea Party can be seen as a tipping point that spurred the revolutionary movement forward, which ultimately allowed for the creation of the United States. It is because of its importance to the formation of the country that we mark Boston Tea Party Day.

Although Britain had been victorious in the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763), they had accumulated a great national debt and looked to the American colonies for revenue. Parliament instituted taxes on the colonies, the first being the Stamp Act of 1765, which required colonists to pay a tax on printed paper such as newspapers, business cards, and legal documents. Colonists argued that only their representatives in the colonies should have the power to tax them, and that “taxation without representation” was unjust. The Stamp Act was repealed the following year, but the Townshend Acts of 1767 created even more taxes than the Stamp Act, placing them on items such as paper, paint, glass, and tea. The revenue for these taxes was to pay for the salaries of the royal colonial governors. Colonists once again bristled at the idea of being taxed without representation, and they organized boycotts of the taxed goods. Because of this pressure, in April 1770, all of the Townshend Acts except the tax on tea were repealed. The tax on tea was kept as a symbol of Parliament’s power and right to levy a tax on the colonies.

Another incident occurred the month before the Townshend Acts were repealed which also raised the discontent of colonists: the Boston Massacre. Colonists had been irritated that British troops were patrolling their streets, and this pent up anger took the form of action when a mob of colonists threw snowballs at a British sentinel who was guarding the Boston Customs House. British reinforcements arrived and the colonists were fired on. Five lost their lives and six more were injured. The colonial frustration that sparked the Boston Massacre only intensified following it.

Colonists drank about 1.2 million pounds of tea a year. With the repeal of the Townshend Acts, boycotting of British tea abated, although some colonists avoided it and drank smuggled Dutch tea instead. Everything changed after Parliament passed the Tea Act in May 1773. This act was created to save the faltering British East India Tea Company and to turn it into a monopoly in the colonies; the act wasn’t designed to raise revenue, but to bail out the tea company, which was valuable to Britain’s economy. It allowed the British East India Company to sell tea cheaper than anyone else because it stipulated that the tea didn’t need to land in England on its way to the colonies, where an additional tax would have had to have been paid. The tea was still taxed at colonial ports, however. Overall, though, the Tea Act lowered the price of tea from the British East India Company, and the company was able to monopolize the market.

Some thought the Tea Act was made as a way to get colonists to accept and support the idea that Parliament could tax colonists. Even though the price of tea was now cheaper for colonists, they were not supportive of the Tea Act. They had never accepted the right of Britain to place duties on tea, and the act reinvigorated their opposition. The act revived the boycotting of tea, and more people began to smuggle Dutch tea, although it was actually more expensive than the British tea. Two of the most prominent tea smugglers were John Hancock and Samuel Adams. The act negatively affected colonial merchants and these merchants and patriot groups like the Sons of Liberty found themselves aligned in opposition to Britain in a way they hadn’t prior. Colonists continued to protest against the tea tax and against British control, and in some ports, they were able to force ships with tea from unloading their cargo.

Then, on the night of December 16, 1773, the first major act of resistance to British rule took place, when the Boston Tea Party occurred at Griffin’s Wharf in Boston Harbor. The Sons of Liberty, formed of colonial merchants and tradesmen and comprised of noteworthy members such as Samuel Adams, John Hancock, Paul Revere, and Patrick Henry, had been founded to protest taxation, particularly the Stamp Act. They had spoken against Parliament in their meetings, and when the Dartmouth, a ship filled with tea from the British East India Company, came to Griffin’s Wharf in 1773, they protested. By mid-December, the ship had been joined by Beaver and Eleanor, which also carried tea. On the morning of December 16, colonists came together in the area around the wharf, and a meeting was held at the Old South Meeting House. They agreed not to pay any taxes on the tea, or to allow it to be unloaded, stored, sold, or used. At the same time, Governor Thomas Hutchinson said the ships could not return to Britain, the tea tariff had to be paid, and that the tea had to be unloaded. Colonists refused all of these demands.

At least 60—and perhaps more than 100—Massachusetts colonists, believed to be part of the Sons of Liberty, disguised themselves as Mohawk American Indians, boarded the ships and dumped 342 crates or chests of tea into Boston Harbor. They split the crates with their tomahawks so that the tea would be exposed when it hit the water. After almost three hours, they had emptied more than 90,000 pounds of tea into the harbor. In today’s dollars, the tea would be valued at about $1,000,000. No other damage was done to the ships or other property. It is not known who was all involved, but the event, which became known as the Boston Tea Party, is believed to have been led by Samuel Adams and organized by John Hancock. Most participants were under the age of 40, and some were teenagers. Only one person was arrested and imprisoned: Francis Akeley. Not all of the Founding Fathers were happy with what happened in Boston. George Washington and Benjamin Franklin were not pleased by it, and Franklin believed that the British East India Company should be reimbursed.

In response to the Boston Tea Party, Parliament passed the Coercive Acts, which became known to the colonists as the Intolerable Acts. Britain passed them in hopes that they would keep the colonies from uniting. These acts did a number of things: they closed Boston Harbor until the tea was paid for, they ended the Massachusetts Constitution and repealed Massachusetts’ colonial charter, they halted the free elections of town officials in Massachusetts, formal British rule started in Massachusetts and General Thomas Gage—the commander of British forces in North America—was appointed governor, judicial authority in the colonies was moved to Britain, colonists were required to quarter British troops when asked to do so, and French-Canadian Catholics received the freedom of worship, angering many Protestant colonists. Instead of dissuading colonists from uniting, the Intolerable Acts spurred the revolutionary movement. Colonists sent aid to Massachusetts, those with more moderate views became more sympathetic to those held by radicals, and colonists organized the First Continental Congress.

On September 5, 1774, the First Continental Congress convened, when elected delegates from all the colonies except Georgia met in Carpenters’ Hall in Philadelphia. They wrote the Declaration of Resolves over the following month, which censured Britain for passing the Intolerable Acts and called for their appeal, established a boycott of British goods, declared that the colonies had the right to govern themselves independently, and called for a colonial militia. Less than a year later, the Revolutionary War began. There are many events that factored into the colonial break from Britain and the fight for a new country, but the Boston Tea Party played a large role in putting the colonists on an inextricable path to revolution. 

How to Observe Boston Tea Party Day

The following are some ideas on how to to mark the day:

Visit the Boston Tea Party Ship and Museum and the Old South Meeting House. Boston Tea Party Reenactments are often held at these locations on today’s anniversary.

Stop at the official Boston Tea Party marker at the corner of Congress and Purchase streets.

Read a book about the Boston Tea Party.

Host a party and drink some tea, or dump whatever tea you have into water.

Source

[weirdestbooks]

The Shot Heard Around the World Chapter 10

One Hell of a Tea Party (Wattpad | Ao3)

Table of Contents | Prev | Next

May 1773

Thirteen sighs in resignation as he read about the new act. The East India Company would be allowed to bring their tea to his land without paying any of the Townshend Acts. But Thirteen still has to pay them. Thirteen’s people still have to pay them. They still have to pay unfair taxes, while this stupid, idiotic tea company doesn't have to pay any taxes.

It was a monopoly! Thirteen’s merchants would suffer, and his economy would suffer.

'It's like these taxes are here to hurt us. Everyone benefits but us.'

'We're being used.'

Thirteen’s resignation turned to anger as he tore up the paper. This...this stupid tax! Stupid everything! Thirteen helped fight in a war for his father, and this is what he gets in return.

'Did you fight that war for your Father or your people?'

No...Thirteen fought to help his father and his people. He fought...He fought...it was for...

'Your people are more important than your Father. They are you.'

It…it was for his people. Thirteen made that decision a long ago. Thirteen would pick his people if he had to choose between his father and his people. Whatever response they made to this unjust, unfair tax, Thirteen would stand by them.

'We don't like the taxes, and neither do they. Britain may be your Father, but he isn't on your side.'

'These taxes are hurting you.'

'So let's do something about them.'

——————————————————————

December 16, 1773

A ship filled with tea arrived in Boston in late November. A meeting decided that the ship had to return without paying import duty. The other colonies had managed to send their tea ships back to England, but Boston was having difficulties.

"Governor Hutchinson refuses to let the ship leave." Francis Rotch, the owner of the Dartmouth, announced to Thirteen and the rest of the crowd, waving around the note he had received from the governor.

'Seriously? We don't want a dammed monopoly in these colonies!'

'Is Governor Hutchison still mad over us burning his house down? What a childish man, it wasn’t that bad.’

The air in the building changed as the anger of Thirteen’s people grew, as his anger grew. They had another plan that they had come up with during these meetings, a plan that, when suggested, seemed too radical. Nevertheless, Thirteen and the Bostonians still made plans for it, just in case.

If they weren't going to send the tea back to London, they would destroy it all.

'You can't have a monopoly if you have nothing to sell.'

'What if it goes wrong? What if we have a repeat of the Boston Massacre?'

'The soldiers aren't in the city. We'll be unopposed.'

"This meeting can do nothing further to save the country." Samual Adams declared as the meeting continued. But the air was restless. The Sons of Liberty and Thirteen knew what the backup plan was if they couldn't send the tea back. They wanted to do something to stop this. Then, people began leaving the meeting house.

"Who knows how tea will mingle with salt water?" Someone cried, quickly followed by another shout.

"Boston Harbor, a teapot tonight!"

"Wait! The meeting isn't over!" Sam said as more people began to leave, trying to reclaim control of the meeting. Thirteen stood up, and Sam put his hand on his shoulder.

"Thirteen, you can't go. You'll be recognized. Stay here," he said. Thirteen smiled.

"I'm sorry, Sam, but I have to do this." Thirteen told him, "Make sure you have an alibi."

Sam nodded, and Thirteen made his way out of the meeting house, heading to the house of someone who had prepared disguises. Thirteen hid his flag by ducking into an alley and changing to his human form.

England would recognize his face, but no one else should.

Thirteen arrived at the house and was let in. He saw people already preparing their disguises, starting with their faces. A woman was also there helping the men disguise their faces. They were also putting on disguises meant to imitate the native's clothes.

"Like the disguises? We picked them to show that we identify with this land, Massachusetts and America, not Britain." One of the men who saw Thirteen looking at the disguises said. Thirteen smiled.

"I know," Thirteen told him, a strange sense of pride overtaking him.

'Obviously, we were going to pick something that shows we are proud of where we live.'

'Especially since the British seem to enjoy pretending we aren't British citizens and use it to decrease our rights.'

Thirteen prepared his disguise, and after making sure everyone else was ready, they headed out to Griffin's Wharf, where the ships were. Some civilians had followed us and were watching. Thirteen gripped his hatchet tighter in his hand. A small part of him felt guilty for doing this.

'Don't. You're doing the right thing. This tea cannot remain here.'

Thirteen knew that, but it still felt like he was betraying his father.

'Isn't he betraying you by allowing harmful taxes to be placed on you?'

'Don't worry about betraying him. He's already been given enough warnings that your people are at the end of their rope.'

Thirteen was so conflicted. He felt like his allegiance was being torn in half. He wanted to be loyal to his people and his father, but here he was, committing what his father would see as treason with the people his father hated. Who was truly right?

'Your people. They focus on what's best for you. Britain focuses on what's best for him.'

'This isn't the time for second thoughts. You're committing treason. You've committed treason. Stop letting personal sentiments get in the way of doing what's right for you.'

Thirteen let out a shaky sigh. He knew there was no going back and that this was what he had to do...but he always doubted everything. But there was no time for that. They had a mission to complete. There would be time to question where his allegiances would lie later.

They arrived at the wharf and made their way onto the ships they had been assigned earlier. Thirteen went onto the Eleanor, the ship on which he was assigned to destroy the tea. The crates were too heavy to lift on their own, so they began to break them open.

Thirteen used his hatchet to cut the cloth covering the crate before breaking through the lid, cutting through the small lead lining that protected the tea from water bugs. Thirteen then took off his hat and used it to scoop out a bunch of tea leaves before going back above deck to throw them overboard. He repeated that until he could carry the crate out and throw it overboard.

'This is going to take forever.'

The men continued to break apart boxes and throw them overboard, going as quickly as possible. There was a nervous energy in the air, as none of them wanted to be caught by the soldiers.

None of them wanted a repeat of the Boston Massacre. Or the Battle of Golden Hill. Or any of the countless brawls between the colonists and the soldiers.

After almost three hours, they finally finished throwing all the tea overboard.

'That was the hardest thing we've ever done.'

'We just threw about 300, 400-pound crates into the harbor. Did you think it was going to be easy?'

Thirteen looked out at the harbor, seeing bobbing tea crates, wood pieces, and faint clumps of tea leaves. He was apprehensive about what the morning would bring.

————————————————————

December 17, 1773

Thirteen looked out onto the harbor, which had turned brown due to the tea in it. Thirteen stood further away from Griffin's Wharf, where the soldiers would go. Thirteen knew they wouldn't recognize him without my flag, but he was still nervous and didn't want to risk it. After all, Thirteen had committed two different acts of treason.

Thirteen felt someone put a hand on his shoulder, and he turned his head around, seeing England standing behind him. England looked angry, although Thirteen couldn't tell if England thought he participated or not.

‘Oh, hells.'

"Thirteen," he said. Thirteen knocked England’s hand off his shoulder before facing him.

"Hello. How do you like that teapot?" Thirteen asked mockingly, gesturing towards the harbor. England scowled.

"What did you do?" He asked. Thirteen smiled.

"The only thing I've done is protect my people's rights. Everything I've done is no worse than what you've done.”

"You're coming back to our house," England said, reaching out to grab Thirteen’s arm, but he pushed England’s hand away.

"Like hell I am. You think I want to live with the man that shot me?" Thirteen said. Guilt flashed through England's eyes as he pulled his hand back.

"I'm so sorry, Thirteen. I never meant to shoot you."

'Bullshit.'

'But you did mean to shoot one of my people.'

'If we weren't shot, England wouldn't care about the people who died. He only feels back because it's us.'

"Empty words. You should have never been firing a weapon into a crowd anyway." Thirteen snapped back, holding his hand above where the injury was.

"That was a riot, not a crowd, and it was an accident. If you and the other colonists hadn't started throwing things at us, it probably would have gone in a different direction." England started.

'Don't lecture us on how you can do nothing wrong. That's bullshit.'

'Right, so we started it by reacting to your soldiers hurting a child!'

Thirteen scowled, and England noticed his change in expression and changed the topic.

"Thirteen, everyone's worried about you. They haven't heard from you in three years, aside from rumors about you burning a ship," England said. Thirteen rolled his eyes.

'We burnt that ship! It deserved to burn!'

"That was on purpose. You think I want to talk to you after you shot me after you tried to blame me for the deaths of my people, England? You think I want to be around any of you after all this?" Thirteen snapped. England stepped back after Thirteen called him by name, shocked.

"You called me England." He said, his voice quiet.

"You think I'm going to call you uncle after you shot me? No. And I did throw the tea in the harbor. But what are you going to do about it? You need two witnesses to accuse me of a crime; not everyone who participated in that will tell. We're not all idiots like Mr. Akeley." Thirteen said.

"Thirteen. I...I...what happened to you?" England said.

'We realized we were being used.'

'We realized you don't care about us.'

'We realized you care more about money and control than your nephew.'

'Our eyes have been opened to the world, and we realize that not everything you say is correct.'

'We've started making our own decisions.'

"You. And Father. And all of those stupid taxes and acts. You're pushing my people to the brink of bankruptcy! You're taxes are hurting my economy! YOU ARE HURTING ME! I'm just responding accordingly." the Colonies said. They raised their fist to swing it at England, but before that happened, something hit thei–Thirteen’s head and knocked him to the ground, his vision blurry.

What just happened?

—————————————————————

England looked at the soldier who had hit Thirteen with his gun and then at Thirteen, who was lying dazed on the ground.

"Why did you do that?" England demanded. This would only give Thirteen more things to whine about and convince him to further side with the criminals and rioters.

"Sorry, sir, but he looked like he was about to attack you." The soldier said.

"I can handle myself. Work on finding out you threw all this tea into the harbor!" England ordered. He wouldn't rat out Thirteen, as it would be bad if it looked like Britain couldn’t control his colony by that much. It was clear that something had happened to him. If Thirteen had been with the Sons of Liberty for the past three years, they could have twisted his views on things.

Or... no. England wasn't going to consider that opinion. Thirteen would eventually fall back in line.

England would make sure of it.

[chasing-yesterdays]

Tea from the Boston Tea Party, December 16, 1773.

Three extant vials of tea purported to have been collected in the aftermath of the Boston Tea Party, December 16, 1773.

“Tea that was gathered up on the Shore of Dorchester neck on the morning after the destruction of the three Cargos at Boston December 17. 1773.″ (Source)

“TEA THROWN INTO BOSTON HARBOR DEC. 16. 1773.” (Source)

“Glass Bottle Containing Tea” (Source)

[usnatarchives]

Spill the tea, history.

The Boston Tea Party is a significant moment in American history and has come to represent the American colonies' resistance to British rule.

On December 16, 1773, a group of colonists, known as the Sons of Liberty, boarded three ships in Boston Harbor and threw the cargo of tea overboard. This act of defiance was a response to the British government's decision to tax the colonies without giving them representation in Parliament. The colonists believed that this tax was unfair and violated their rights as British citizens.

The Boston Tea Party was not only a protest against the British government's actions, but it was also a key moment in the lead-up to the American Revolution. The colonists' refusal to pay the tax on tea showed that they were willing to stand up for their rights and fight against oppression. This event is often seen as a turning point in the colonists' relationship with Britain and is celebrated as a symbol of American independence.

The Boston Tea Party was a significant and controversial event in American history. The destruction of property and the defiance of authority prompted the British government to respond with harsh measures, including the closure of Boston Harbor and the passage of the Intolerable Acts.

Read some of the correspondence between some of our Founding Fathers about this seminal event on the Text Message Blog: https://text-message.blogs.archives.gov/2011/12/16/boston-tea-party-etiquette/

Additional reading from the diary of John Adams: https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/01-02-02-0003-0008-0001

Image: "The Destruction of Tea at Boston Harbor. 1773." Copy of lithograph by Sarony & Major, 1846., 1931 - 1932 (National Archives Identifier: 532892); The George Washington Bicentennial Commission, 1931 - 1932; Records of Commissions of the Legislative Branch, 1928 - 2006; Record Group 148; National Archives