American War History Story

Chapter 26: Boston Tea Event

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After the "Boston Massacre" in March 1770, the people of North America launched a larger-scale anti-British struggle. The British colonial authorities were forced to make some concessions. The British army withdrew from Boston. In 1770, the Townsend Act was abolished, but a tea import tax of 3p per pound was retained.

The people of North America were very dissatisfied with this and regarded it as a symbol of British tyranny. Therefore, from 1770, the people of North America started a non-tea-drinking movement to protest. Some merchants in the colonies used smuggling methods to transport tea to North America. At that time, the British East India Company was on the verge of bankruptcy. In order to help the company sell nearly 8,000 tons of tea stored in it and ease the company’s financial difficulties, the British government passed a special tea regulation for the East India Company in 1773. The company allowed the company to sell the overstocked tea at low prices in the North American colonies, and only imposed a slight tea tax on the East India Company. The price of this batch of tea was therefore 50% cheaper than smuggled tea. At the same time, the colonial government reiterated its prohibition The regulations on tea smuggling caused panic among tea smugglers. They used patriotism as a slogan to mobilize the masses to boycott the East India Company tea to be sold in the North American colonies.

A group of Boston youths also organized the Boston Tea Party with the support of a person nicknamed "Smuggler King."

In December 1773, the East India Company's ship loaded with tea entered the Port of Boston, and refused the local citizens' request to leave the port, insisting on unloading.

On the evening of December 16, some members of the Boston Tea Party disguised themselves as Indians, set foot on the East India Company’s tea boat, and dumped all 342 boxes of tea worth 15,000 pounds into the sea.

This incident reflects the justice demands of the people of North America for national independence.