Boston Tea Party Facts

Boston Tea Party

Boston Tea Party Facts

The Boston Tea Party was a famous pre-revolutionary incident that occurred on December 16,  1773.

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The Boston Tea Party Facts

This article contains fast facts and information about the Boston Tea Party that erupted in 1773. The Boston Tea Party fact files provides fast access to interesting facts and stats about this famous event in American history. The facts about the Boston Tea Party Facts also provides interesting information about the people who were involved in the incident which became known as the Boston Tea Party.

60 Facts about the Boston Tea Party Facts
The following Boston Tea Party Facts provide interesting facts and an overview and description of the events surrounding the incident that followed the Boston Massacre which occurred on March 5, 1770 - for more info refer to
Facts about the Boston Massacre

Boston Tea Party Facts - 60 Facts!

Boston Tea Party Fact 1The Boston Tea Party took place on Thursday December 16, 1773
 
 
Boston Tea Party Fact 2The Boston Tea Party followed another pre-revolutionary incident called the Boston Massacre that occurred on March 5, 1770
 
 
Boston Tea Party Fact 3In 1768, colonists consumed almost two million pounds of tea - The 3 million inhabitants of the American colonies were consuming an average of 2-3 cups every day
 
 
Boston Tea Party Fact 490% of the tea drunk in the colonies was smuggled in. The American tradition of drinking coffee increased as British tea was subject to boycotts
 
 
Boston Tea Party Fact 5The Boston Tea Party was a direct protest by colonists, members of the the Sons of Liberty, against the Tea Tax that had been imposed by the British government.
 
 
Boston Tea Party Fact 6The new import tax on tea of 3 pence was considerably less than the previous one in which 12 pence (1 shilling) per pound on tea sent via Britain. The American colonists would therefore get their tea cheaper than the people of Britain
 
 
Boston Tea Party Fact 7Rebellion against the tea tax was not a result of a raise in the tax, the tax was actually lowered - the protests were because there were no colonists in the English parliament which led to the cry of "No taxation without representation!" in the American colonies.
 
 
Boston Tea Party Fact 8The Tea tax protests resulted in the smuggling of cheaper, non-British tea and boycotts of British tea through Nonimportation Agreements.
 
 
Boston Tea Party Fact 9Tea was to be marketed in America by special consignees (receivers of shipments) who were to be selected by the East India Company
 
 
Boston Tea Party Fact 10Only ships owned by the East India Company could carry tea

East India Company Tea Auction

East India Company Tea Auction
 

 
Boston Tea Party Fact 11The three ships bound for Boston harbor carried 342 chests, the majority of which was Bohea Tea, which was produced in China, not India.
 
 
Boston Tea Party Fact 12The Dartmouth ship, under Captain Hall, carried 114 chests of tea and arrived in Boston Harbor on Sunday, November 28th
 
 
Boston Tea Party Fact 13The Eleanor ship, under Captain Coffin, carried 114 chests of tea and arrived in Boston Harbor on Thursday, December 2nd
 
 
Boston Tea Party Fact 14The Beaver ship, under Captain Bruce, carried 114 chests of tea, docked  in Boston Harbor  Wednesday, December 15th. The Beaver was delayed due to a case of smallpox which broke out onboard, and she was held in quarantine for two weeks in the outer harbor of Boston.

Clipper
 

 
Boston Tea Party Fact 15There were to be 4 ships, but the William ran aground off Cape Cod on December 10, 1773, in a terrible storm.
 
 
Boston Tea Party Fact 16The Tea Act text states "to increase the deposit on bohea tea to be sold at the India Company's sales".  Bohea Tea (pronounced boo-hee) was therefore a black tea from China
 
 
Boston Tea Party Fact 17The word Bohea was commonly used as the slang term for tea
 

 

 
Boston Tea Party Fact 18The 342 chests, that were destroyed at the Boston Tea Party, consisted of several different types of the commodity - the differences arose from the mode of preparation:
  • 240 chests of Bohea (black) - the cheapest type
  • 15 chests of Congou -  a superior type of black Bohea tea
  • 10 chests of Souchong (a superior black)
  • 60 chests of of Singlo (green tea, more expensive than black)
  • 17 chests of Hyson (the most desirable green tea)
 
Boston Tea Party Fact 19The 342 chests were equivalent to more than 46 tons of tea leaves which would have made nearly 19 million cups of tea!
 
 
Boston Tea Party Fact 20The tea plant was at one time introduced into South Carolina, but with little success
 
 
Boston Tea Party Fact 21Under pressure from the Sons of Liberty patriot groups, the consignees in Charleston, New York, and Philadelphia refused to accept the shipments and allowed the tea to be returned. But the consignees in Boston did not agree.
 
 
Boston Tea Party Fact 22The chosen consignees in Boston were two sons of the Governor, Thomas Hutchinson  and his nephew, Richard Clarke.
 
 
Boston Tea Party Fact 23

The three shiploads of cargo belonging to the East India Company were left sitting at Griffin’s Wharf, a few blocks away from the Old South Meeting House
 

 
Boston Tea Party Fact 24

Each of the three ships were about 80 feet long
 

 
Boston Tea Party Fact 25

Each ship had a crew of 8-12 men, who, aside from the captain, slept in the cargo hold.
 

 
Boston Tea Party Fact 26Tax Deadline: The tax, or duty, had to be paid the moment the tea was unloaded - the absolute deadline for payment of the tax was 20 days after the arrival of the consignment. If the tax was not paid within the 20 days the cargo would be seized by authorities.
 
 
Boston Tea Party Fact 27On November 5, 1773, Guy Fawkes Day, celebrated as Pope’s Day in colonial Boston, Samuel Adams called a town meeting at Faneuil Hall in response to the “tea crisis” and declared anyone who aids or abets the “unloading receiving or vending the tea is an enemy to America!”

Faneuil Hall
 

 
Boston Tea Party Fact 28An armed guard of patriots was posted at the wharf to prevent the cargo coming ashore
 
 
Boston Tea Party Fact 29Samuel Adams, John Hancock and Paul Revere, and leaders of the Boston Sons of Liberty organized a meeting on November 29, 1773, the day after the Dartmouth arrived,  at Faneuil Hall to discuss the situation. So many people showed up, that the meeting had to be moved to the Old South Meeting House to accommodate the thousands of Boston citizens.

 

 
Boston Tea Party Fact 30The Bostonians decided to demand that the tea be sent back to England with the tax unpaid. The attendees told Francis Rotch, the owner of the Dartmouth, to ask Governor Hutchinson for permission to sail out of Boston and back to England.
 
 
Boston Tea Party Fact 31The patriots then tried to persuade the consignees and then Governor Thomas Hutchinson to  send the cargo back to England with the tax unpaid
 
 
Boston Tea Party Fact 32Neighboring towns communicated messages of support. Signs were posted all over the city of Boston announcing the next meetings.
 
 
Boston Tea Party Fact 33On December 16, 1773 another large meeting at the Old South Church in Boston was told of the final refusal to their demands by Governor Thomas Hutchinson.
 
 
Boston Tea Party Fact 34The Boston patriots agreed that their only course of action was to destroy the cargo
 
 
Boston Tea Party Fact 35The shop, of John Cane was used by patriots as a gathering place before heading to the ships at Griffins’ wharf. It was here that that many adopted their disguises.
 
 
Boston Tea Party Fact 36Why Indian Disguise? Destroying the tea was an act of treason, punishable by death so many of the Boston patriots, including Paul Revere, disguised themselves as Mohawk Indians to hide their identity. They carried hatchets, or tomahawks, which they used to break open the crates
 
 
Boston Tea Party Fact 37One of the participants, Nathaniel Bradlee, had a sister, Sarah Bradlee who is credited for being the one who came up with the idea for patriots dressing up as Mohawks. Sarah Bradlee has been called the "Mother of the Boston Tea Party" for helping the patriots to disguise themselves as Indians. Sarah Bradlee was a prominent member of the Boston Daughters of Liberty.
 
 
Boston Tea Party Fact 38There are 180 known names of men who participated in dumping the cargo of the three ships. 
 
 
Boston Tea Party Fact 39The patriots organized themselves into 3 groups to board the three different ships. Each group had a leader.
 
 
Boston Tea Party Fact 40The leaders of each group requested that the Captains unlocked the hatches to the cargo decks and the crates were hoisted on to the main deck.
 
 
Boston Tea Party Fact 41The crates were smashed open with the tomahawks and thrown into the water.

Destroying the Tea Crates
 

 
Boston Tea Party Fact 42A large mob attended the Boston Party and there was little interference and no violence occurred.
 
 
Boston Tea Party Fact 43The Captains and crews of the ships generally stood by impassively, and the surrounding British warships did not fire their weapons.
 
 
Boston Tea Party Fact 44The patriots, including Paul Revere, took 3 hours between 7 and 10 PM to dump the cargo


 

 
Boston Tea Party Fact 45Two-thirds of the participants whose ages were known were under 20, including 16 teenagers. Only nine are known to have been 40 years old or older.
 
 
Boston Tea Party Fact 46About one-third of the participants were skilled artisans such as carpenters, masons and shoemakers.
 
 
Boston Tea Party Fact 47There were a small number of merchants, doctors and clerks but the majority of participants were apprentices, laborers and seamen.
 
 
Boston Tea Party Fact 48Over 45 tons of cargo went into the water that night.
 
 
Boston Tea Party Fact 49The only casualty during the incident happened to John Crane who was knocked unconscious by a falling crate. He was carried to the docks by his comrades and put on a bed of wood shavings
 
 
Boston Tea Party Fact 50The participants did not vandalize the ships, or steal any of the cargo for personal consumption.
 
 
Boston Tea Party Fact 51The crews of the ships later confirmed that nothing had been damaged or destroyed except the tea and that the protesters had swept the decks clean afterwards
 
 
Boston Tea Party Fact 52The next day some of the protestors returned to Griffin's Wharf and, seeing some of the cargo still floating on top of the water, they approached it in small boats and destroyed what remained by hitting it with their oars.

The Port of Boston in the mid 1700's
 

 
Boston Tea Party Fact 53Sam Adams defended the actions of the Boston Party stating that it “was not the act of a lawless mob, but a principled protest and the only remaining option the people had to defend their Constitutional rights.”
 
 
Boston Tea Party Fact 54King George III stated that, “The die is now cast. The colonies must either submit or triumph.”
 
 
Boston Tea Party Fact 55There were many Americans who were not in favor of the unlawful actions taken in Boston by destroying private property. Benjamin Franklin stated that the destroyed tea must be repaid
 
 
Boston Tea Party Fact 56Robert Murray, a New York financier, three merchants approached Lord North the British Prime Minister offering to pay for the losses, but the offer was turned down.
 
 
Boston Tea Party Fact 57The British Parliament ordered the Royal Navy to blockade Boston Harbor. The blockade prevented supplies from entering the Harbor and prevented Massachusetts merchants from selling their goods.
 
 
Boston Tea Party Fact 58Origin of the name: The term 'Boston Tea Party' did not appear in print until 1834 before that time the incident was referred to as the “destruction of the tea”.
 
Boston Tea Party Fact 59The East India Company reported losses of £9,659 after the Boston Tea Party - worth over $1 Million in today's money.
 
 
Boston Tea Party Fact 60As a result of the Boston Tea Party Britain passed the Coercive Acts (Intolerable Acts) to punish Boston for its rebellious actions. These laws ultimately led to the American Revolutionary War
 
 

Boston Tea Party Facts - 60 Facts!

Hatchets and Tomahawks used to open crates

Hatchets and Tomahawks used to open crates

Boston Tea Party Facts
The article containing Boston Party facts is presented in a short, easy fact file format that is highly suitable for kids and schools. The facts of the tragic events are a fast and accurate way to gain a good understanding of the events this famous incident that played a major role in the American Revolutionary War. The facts include the major events of the incident together with important dates and the roles of different people who feature in the history of the Boston Party.

The Boston Tea Party Facts

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