The Boston Tea Party
Winning the French and Indian War was expensive for the British. To pay the bills, King George III decided to tax the colonists. With tension building between the colonists and the motherland, the 1765 Stamp Act, 1767 Townsend Acts, and the 1770 Boston Massacre brought them to the edge. But when the crown declared a tax on tea, they had crossed the line. Extremely angered, the colonists took action with an event that brought the Revolutionary War.
To show their hate of the remaining taxes, the colonists started to smuggle over their own tea, without the tax. This act of drinking smuggled tea caused a heavy impact on tea sales(a drop of 70% over three years). To avert bankruptcy, Parliament granted a monopoly to the English East India Company on colonial tea imports. New regulations allowed tea to be sold for a low price. Even with the tea tax, it was less costly than smuggled tea. The British Thought if the price was low, colonists would willingly pay the tax. The Tea Act stated the required tax must be paid within twenty days of the ship's arrival. So by December 16, the tax must be paid. Sam Adams was consistently holding public meeting in the Old South Meeting House, and often drew in crowds of up to 5,000 people. At one of these meetings, A resolution was adopted, asking them to take the tea back. Most of them, being related to the governor, refused to do so. On December 16, the deadline, the captain of the Dartmouth agreed to sail his cargo back. However, when the Dartmouth tried to leave, British officials wouldn't grant permission to leave, and the ship was taken, for the tax had not yet been payed. When this was reported to Sam Adams that night, he and a group of about 50 men, disguised as Mohawk Indians boarded three ships, split open 342 crates of tea, and threw them in the water.
Resources: http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/teaparty.htm
http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h646.html
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-boston-tea-party
http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h646.html
http://www.ehow.com/about_4572094_did-boston-tea-party-lead.html
Resources: http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/teaparty.htm
http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h646.html
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-boston-tea-party
http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h646.html
http://www.ehow.com/about_4572094_did-boston-tea-party-lead.html