Historical Analysis: Boston Tea Party

Historical Analysis: Boston Tea Party

Introduction

The Boston Tea Party was a raid in Boston Harbor in 1773, where American Colonists dumped shiploads of teas into the water to protest against the British tax on tea. The Boston event was not just a political protest but rather a sign of frustration by American colonists at Britain for imposing taxation on them without representation. This was the first significant act of defiance against British rule over the colonists. But what contributed to the event was that Britain was deep in debt, which made the British Parliament impose a series of taxes on American colonists so that they could pay the debts. It is clear before the revolutionary War, America was ruled by Britain, which meant that as colonists' people were to pay taxes to Britain. The colonist, who was American citizens, understood that paying tax was necessary because the government of the say needed the tax so that it could pay its bills. This means that the colonists understood the importance of taxation, and they willingly paid, but they felt it was unfair to impose such a harsh tea tax on them. The Boston Tea Party event fueled tension between Britain and America, which ultimately led to the revolutionary War that started in 1775, leading to its independence from Britain's colony. Therefore, this paper aims to give a historical analysis of the Boston Tea Party by explaining the significant factors that caused the events to happen and its impact on American society.

Causes of Boston Tea Party

From the Boston Tea Party analysis, it is true that the event happened as a result of Britain tea taxation without representation. Although other complex causes contributed to the event, the most significant was the lack of representation. The American colonists felt that Britain was unfairly taxing them to pay the expenses they incurred during the Indian and French War. Also, apart from that, the colonists believed that the action by the British parliament to pass the bill to tax them was not correct because the American colonists were not represented in parliament (Bell, 2012). Tea was regularly imported to American colonies since the beginning of the 18th century. An indication that by the time of the Boston Tea Party, it was approximated that the colonists drank 1.2 million pounds of tea each year. From this case, Britain realized that it could make more money from the tea by imposing taxes on the American colonies. In effect, the decision of Britain to increase the cost of tea made the American colonists begin a very lucrative industry of smuggling tea from Dutch and other European markets. This action made Britain not get the significant returns it intended to get from the tea supply in America. It is clear that the smuggling of tea by the colonist was undercutting the lucrative British tea trade; thus, in response to it, parliament in 1767 passed Indemnity Act that repealed a tax on tea, making British tea to be at the same price as Dutch. The establishment of the Indemnity Act immensely helped to minimize the cases of tea smuggling among the Americans, something that gave the British the luxury to enjoy the market (New York Public Library, 2020). But later, in 1767 new tax on tea was put in place by Townsend Revenue Act which people protested against making it to abolish tax on tea. Therefore, having done a significant analysis of the event, it is significant that what precipitated Boston Tea Party was Britain imposing tea taxation on the American colonies without considering their view. It was from this act that 342 chests of tea were dumped into Harbor, and even that looked like the first defiance by the American colonies to British rule.

The Course of Boston Tea Event

The Boston Tea Party event was organized by a group of patriots led by Samuel Adams, known as the son of Liberty. Although the key concern was different, their key concern was meant to ensure that the harsh tax imposed to the colonist by the British was resisted to make it easier for them to get tea at an affordable price. Having branded themselves as the Sons of Liberty, the group was made up of males from all walks of colonial society, such as business owners, craftsmen, tradesmen, and common laborers who were organized to defend their rights and undermine the British rules in America (New York Public Library, 2020). Although few participants were only known, hundreds took part in the Boston Tea Party. For fear of punishment, many participants remained anonymous for many years after the event. But most essential participants on occasion included individuals like James Otis, John Hancock, John Adams, Paul Revere, Joseph Warren, and Josiah Quincy (NCC Staff, 2021). The event participants defied the Tea Act imposed on the American colonies by the British parliament in 1773. They destroyed an entire shipment of tea sent by East India company by boarding and threw the chests of tea into Boston Harbor to show the British government that they were frustrated and angry with their leadership. The reason participants of the event took such action was the high taxation that many of them viewed as a violation of their rights as taxpayers. Although many people took part in the distraction immediately after the events, many fled Boston to avoid arrest.

The key participants' perspectives differed because some, like John Hancock and Samuel Adams, were trying to protect their economic interests by opposing the act. For instance, looking at the incident, it is significant that Samuel Adams, one of the greatest participants in the event, sold the opposition of British tea to patriots on the pretext of the abolishment of human rights for being taxed without representation (Petrovich, 2013). But this was not the case for other participants in the event because some used it as a road map to revolution. The event made the participants wake up and fight for British rule and unfair taxation that made East India company monopoly on the American tea trade. 

Immediate and Long-term Consequences of the Event

The event of Boston had a significant impact on the life of American colonists because it was the first defiance of British rules. Although the event acted as a catalyst for the American revolution, the immediate effect on American society was negative. For instance, weeks after the event, that saw 92,000 pounds dumped into the Harbor started to cause smell, something that caused the British to shut down Boston Harbor until 340 chests of British East India Company tea were paid for. This action had an immediate effect on individuals who were living around the Harbor and had taken it as a source of their daily income. Although the action had an immediate negative impact on the American societies, it was an enormous event that helped the colonists get their freedom (Khan Academy, (n.d). The event acted as the first defiance by American colonies leading to the sparking of a revolution that began in Massachusetts in 1775. Therefore, it is significant that the immediate consequence of the event to the Americans based on the historical analysis is that it contributed to the close of the Harbor by the British government until the lost tea by the company was paid. But the long-term benefit of the event to American society is that it helped develop colonist revolt and ultimately the American revolution that helped people have freedom of leaving their lives without following British law. It also helped to stop the highest taxation of tea in the country, thus reducing smuggling that could affect the tea business in the country.

Conclusions

In conclusion, the historical background of the event has indicated that before the Revolutionary War, America was ruled by Britain whom they paid their taxes to. But the love of American colonists for tea made the British increase the tax on the product to collect more revenue so that they could pay for the debt they incurred during the French and Indian War. The British's unfair increase of tax on tea fueled tension among the colonists that ultimately led to the Revolutionary War in 1975. Although the event's culmination resulted from imposing tea taxation without representation, other factors such as the establishment of the Indemnity Act and the Townshend Revenue Act led to the Boston Tea Party. Although the participants on the vent had different interests the main concern was to ensure that their rights were not exploited by British government. 

References

Bell, R. (2012). Defiance of the Patriots: The Boston Tea Party and the Making of America. By Benjamin L. Carp (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2010. 311 pp. $30.00).

Khan Academy, K. (n.d.). The Boston Tea Party (article). Retrieved April 7, 2022, from https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-history/road-to-revolution/the-american-revolution/a/the-boston-tea-party

NCC Staff, N. (2021). On this day, the Boston Tea Party lights a Fuse. Retrieved April 7, 2022, from https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/on-this-day-the-boston-tea-party-lights-a-fuse

New York Public Library, (2020, May 13). Boston Tea Party facts: Boston history. Retrieved April 7, 2022, from https://www.bostonteapartyship.com/boston-tea-party-facts

Petrovich, L. L. (2013). More Than the Boston Tea Party: Tea in American Culture, 1760s–1840s (Doctoral dissertation, University of Colorado at Boulder).