250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party
Anyone who knows me knows that I love American History, especially the American Revolutionary period, and the founding days of this country. I also love any other type of history, so I shouldn’t say it’s only the American Revolutionary Period. Give me history and I’m a happy camper. This is why I chose to celebrate the various historical dates that pertain to the beginnings of this country – the rebellious years. Tomorrow December 16th marks the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party which was the major protest in Boston Massachusetts that sparked a demonstration against the Tea Act of 1773 that allowed the British East India Company to bring in tea from China and sell it to the American Colonies without paying any taxes except those imposed under the Townsend Act. The Bostonians felt this was a betrayal and a direct violation of their civil rights to earn a living. Accordingly, the Sons of Liberty as they were known at that time spearheaded by Samuel Adams, Paul Revere, and Thomas Hutchinson protested this violation by dressing up as Indians and destroyed the entire shipment of tea sent to the colony by the East India Company. But what started this rebellious action? It couldn’t have been just tax on tea or the fact that the British East India Company didn’t pay taxes on the tea but instead received a bonus payment from the British Government to sail with the tea to the Colonies. Why would the Government do this probably because the Dutch were also shipping tea from China to the Colonies at a reduced rate undercutting the British East India Company, so the government reduced the East India Companies levy to almost nothing and then paid them a bonus. Remember the East India Company was run by the British government during this time.
So what happened during the Boston Tea Party Protest? The protest consisted of Tea Party Rebels boarding the ships owned by the British East India Company moored in the Boston Harbor and threw the tea they brought with them overboard into Boston Harbor. This act caused the British Government to respond rather harshly, and the American Revolution commenced. This one act was considered the launching point for various levels of the American Revolution to become a major point in the revolution. Once word of the Boston Tea Party rebellion reached Parliament, Parliament responded accordingly with the Intolerable Acts or Coercive Acts which infuriated the colonists and loyalists in the Massachusetts colony. I will delve deeper into the individual acts starting in January when I introduce you to American History and Civics installments for 2024.
But before I get into the purposes of the American Revolutionary War, let’s understand the reasons why it happened in the first place. The Boston Tea Party came about due to a couple of issues that confronted the British Empire in 1765, ten years before the Tea Party rebellion. It was the financial problems inflicted upon the colonists by the British East India Company and whether Parliament had the authority over them without the representation of any individual elected by the colonists. This is where the “No taxation without representation” slogan came from. I will delve deeper into this during my Civics lesson in 2024.
Every aspect of the Boston Tea Party has a direct connection to the political footprint we are dealing with today. If we look at recent years, political activists have tried to resurrect the Tea Party Rebellion status to no avail, why would this new version of Tea Party Revelers fail, because they didn’t have the right direction to follow or the leadership to guide them to success.
Artist and Author Elizabeth
Kilbride is a former political operative, author, scriptwriter, historian, and
journalist. business professional, creative artist, and life coach consultant.
Ms. Kilbride holds a master’s in criminology and a BS in Business Management
she stepped out of the loop for a while but is now back with a powerful opinion
and voice in the direction of this country and our economy. As a life coach,
she is available to counsel individuals to enjoy their dreams and a better
life. Ms. Kilbride loves to travel and photograph her surroundings and is also
a gourmet cook who loves to garden and preserve food for the winter months.
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