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Bostonians and other colonists had been subjected to a tax on [[tea]] as well as [[paint]], [[paper]], and [[glass]] with the passage of the [[Townshend Acts]] in 1767. Protests and non-importation movements by the colonists led the repeal of the Townshend duties in 1770, with the exception of the duty on tea. The British Parliament had retained the tea tax, partly as a symbol of its right to tax the colonies, and partly to aid the financially embarrassed East India Company.<ref>[http://www.reference.com/browse/boston%20tea%20party?qsrc=3086 Boston Tea Party], Reference.com, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008.</ref> In 1773, [[Parliament]] passed the [[Tea Act]] which allowed the struggling [[East India Company]] to sell a half million pounds of tea in the colonies while bypassing the importation taxes normally paid under the [[British Navigation Acts]].   

Bostonians and other colonists had been subjected to a tax on [[tea]] as well as [[paint]], [[paper]], and [[glass]] with the passage of the [[Townshend Acts]] in 1767. Protests and non-importation movements by the colonists led the repeal of the Townshend duties in 1770, with the exception of the duty on tea. The British Parliament had retained the tea tax, partly as a symbol of its right to tax the colonies, and partly to aid the financially embarrassed East India Company.<ref>[http://www.reference.com/browse/boston%20tea%20party?qsrc=3086 Boston Tea Party], Reference.com, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008.</ref> In 1773, [[Parliament]] passed the [[Tea Act]] which allowed the struggling [[East India Company]] to sell a half million pounds of tea in the colonies while bypassing the importation taxes normally paid under the [[British Navigation Acts]].   

For all practical purposes, the 1773 Tea Act gave the East India Tea Company a monopoly by allowing them to charge less than other merchants. Despite the fact they were now paying less for tea, American colonists held [[protest|protests]] against the act. The colonists tried to prevent the consignees from accepting taxed tea and were successful in [[New York]] and [[Philadelphia]]. At [[Charleston]] the tea was landed but was held in [[government]] warehouses. At [[Boston]], three tea ships arrived and remained unloaded but [[Massachusetts]] governor [[Thomas Hutchinson]] became determined to force the colonists to pay the duties on the tea, and issued orders that no British ship was to leave port without unloading their cargo.

For all practical purposes, the 1773 Tea Act gave the East India Tea Company a monopoly by allowing them to charge less than other merchants. Despite the fact they were now paying less for tea, American colonists held [[protest]]s against the act. The colonists tried to prevent the consignees from accepting taxed tea and were successful in [[New York]] and [[Philadelphia]]. At [[Charleston]] the tea was landed but was held in [[government]] warehouses. At [[Boston]], three tea ships arrived and remained unloaded but [[Massachusetts]] governor [[Thomas Hutchinson]] became determined to force the colonists to pay the duties on the tea, and issued orders that no British ship was to leave port without unloading their cargo.

On the evening of December 16, 1773, Boston brewer and patriot [[Samuel Adams]], [[Paul Revere]], and other members of the [[Sons of Liberty]], thinly-disguised as [[Native Americans]], boarded the three British East India Company ships moored to the piers and threw the entire cargo of tea into the harbor.  

On the evening of December 16, 1773, Boston brewer and patriot [[Samuel Adams]], [[Paul Revere]], and other members of the [[Sons of Liberty]], thinly-disguised as [[Native Americans]], boarded the three British East India Company ships moored to the piers and threw the entire cargo of tea into the harbor.  

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==Further Reading==

==Further reading==

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*John Ferling, ''A Leap in the Dark: The Struggle to Create the American Republic'' (Oxford University Press, 2003)

*John Ferling, ''A Leap in the Dark: The Struggle to Create the American Republic'' (Oxford University Press, 2003)

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{{Template:Building Toward Independence}}

{{Building Toward Independence}}

[[Category:American Revolution]]

[[Category:American Revolution]]

[[Category:Boston]]

[[Category:Boston]]

[[category:Taxation]]

[[Category:Taxation]]

[[Category:Tax Revolts]]

[[Category:Tax Revolts]]

[[Category:Founding Fathers]]

[[Category:Founding Fathers]]