The “Sons of Liberty” Staged the Boston Tea Party on Dec. 16, 1773

The “Sons of Liberty” staged the Boston Tea Party on Dec. 16, 1773.

One of the most famous political protests in history took place in Boston, Massachusetts, on December 16th, 1773. Although this protest is called the “Boston Tea Party,” it was not a party at all. Instead, it was a serious political and economic message to Great Britain from its subjects in North America.

In 1773, the United States of America did not exist. Much of the East Coast consisted of British colonies. (A colony is an area that is controlled by another country.)

At this point in history, the British Empire ruled much of the world, including Australia, India, Hong Kong, colonies in Africa and the Caribbean, the Middle East, and more.

For years, many American colonists felt that Great Britain treated them unfairly. Colonists had to pay taxes on goods coming from England, and those prices kept going up. They even had to pay for the official stamps on marriage certificates and playing cards.

Every time a new tax was passed, more colonists became upset. But being upset was all they could do about it, because the colonies were not allowed any votes in the British Parliament. This inspired the famous phrase, “No taxation without representation.”

Some Americans began to smuggle goods into the country to avoid these taxes. One of the items in question was tea, which was a very popular drink all over the British Empire. Colonists started to protest in 1773 by refusing to buy tea from one of the biggest importers, the British East India Company. The word for this type of protest is “boycott.”

Copyright 2018 Knowledge Unlimited In response, Parliament passed the Tea Act. This law said the British East India Company did not have to pay any British taxes at all. Colonists thought it was unfair for the government to treat one company in such a special manner — especially when American companies and people had to pay taxes on everything.

The Tea Act sparked anger throughout the colonies. But protests were especially fierce in Boston. There, a group called the “Sons of Liberty” started to organize rallies. The Sons of Liberty included people from every colony who wanted the colonies to break away from Great Britain. In Boston, members included John Adams, John Hancock, and Samuel Adams.

Soon, thousands of Bostonians were trying to stop the British ships from unloading their tea. But Massachusetts Governor Thomas Hutchinson, loyal to Great Britain, would not let three of the ships leave without unloading their cargo.

On December 16,th 1773, the Sons of Liberty took matters into their own hands. Dozens of them dressed up as Mohawks, members of a prominent Native American tribe, and boarded these ships. They chose this disguise for two main reasons: to hide their faces from British soldiers, and to symbolize that they were starting to think of themselves as “Americans” rather than “former British subjects.” They brought the casks of tea up onto the deck and emptied them overboard. Soon, all of Boston Harbor was full of British tea.

This “tea party” inspired other colonists to protest against British rule. It also caused a lot of British lawmakers to harden their hearts against the colonies. Ultimately, the Boston Tea Party became one of the most important events in the chain that led to the American Revolution.