Essential Question How did repeated British economic interference result in the Boston Tea Party?

The Tea Act & the Boston Tea Party Ch 6 Sec 2 Pt III

Another Successful Boycott In April 1770, Parliament repealed the Townshend Acts Once again, the colonial boycott worked British trade had been severely hurt and Parliament backed down Parliament did keep the tax on tea This was meant to show the colonists that they still had the right to tax

Anger Over Tea The remaining tea tax caused animosity among the colonists Many chose not to buy tea and other products from British merchants Some colonists resorted to smuggling in tea from Holland As a result, British tea companies lost large amounts of $

Anger Over Tea In an attempt to save British tea merchants, Parliament passed the Tea Act of 1773 The law gave one company, The British East India Co., exclusive rights to sell tea in the colonies The act, again, actually lowered the price of tea Colonists were still angered, though, b/c they couldn’t buy, sell, or ship tea through a colonial source Colonial tea merchants were effectively cut out of the trade

Summary/Quiz Question Which law was passed specifically to save the British East India Co.? Quartering Act Tea Act Townshend Acts Sugar Act

Colonial Unity By this time, colonial leaders understood the importance of the colonies working together Samuel Adams urged many MA towns to form “committees of correspondence” These committees wrote letters in order to: Communicate with neighboring towns Inform citizens of colonial affairs Plan acts of resistance against the British

The Boston Tea Party Protests against the Tea Act took place throughout the colonies In Charleston, NYC, & Philly colonists: Blockaded British tea ships from unloading or; Unloaded tea & let it rot on the docks The most famous protest, though, took place in Boston On the evening of Dec 6., 1773 an SOL group disguised as Mohawks boarded 3 tea ships They proceeded to destroy 342 chests of tea by dumping them in the harbor

Tea Party Aftermath Colonial leaders offered to pay for the tea if the Tea Act was repealed Parliament refused, and decided to “punish” the colonists instead The aftermath of this decision would send some colonists into open rebellion

Tea Party Punishment The Boston Tea Party infuriated Parliament KG III decided it was time to “master” the colonists through punitive measures In 1774, Parliament passed a series of laws meant to clamp down on colonial resistance The British called these the Coercive Acts

Summary/Quiz Question Which of the following was a direct result of the colonists hatred of the Tea Act? Boston Massacre Proclamation of 1763 Quartering Act Boston Tea Party