Americans have always been outspoken and strong-willed. There may be no better example of this then the Boston Tea Party. The events in Boston on December 16, 1773, were a major part of the build up that led to the American Revolution. The colonists were disapproving of how the British government was treating them. They came up with some very unique and extremely historic ways to show their disapproval.
The East India Tea Company was on the verge of going bankrupt in 1773. Because of Britain's continued taxation of tea imported to the United States after the repeal of the Townshend Revenue Act in 1770, Americans already had a bad taste in their mouth when it came to tea. Although the tax itself only cost American families pennies each year, Samuel Adams pointed out that the Parliament could change that at their will. Many colonists began drinking tea smuggled from Holland. When the British Parliament passed the Tea Act of 1773, some Americans had had enough. The Tea Act allowed the East India Tea Company to import tea directly to the United States. It got rid of the profits the middlemen were making in order to pass the most profits on to the East India Tea Company. The company could sell their tea at a lower price than the American merchants. This angered the American tea merchants. They feared it would create a monopoly and would end up bankrupting their own businesses.
Many of the colonies made plans to prevent the East India Company from docking in colonial ports. In some ports, agents of the company were pressured to resign. New shipments of tea were either returned to England or put in a warehouse. Boston was different. The agent refused to resign. With the help of the royal governor, plans were made to land and unload incoming ships. On November 27, 1773, three ships, the Beaver, the Eleanor, and the Dartmouth, loaded with tea landed in Boston harbor. They were prevented from unloading.
