In 1773, Boston patriots dressed as Mohawk Indians and threw 10,000 pounds of tea into the harbor to protest British rule. The event led to cries for independence and the closure of Boston Harbor. Today, visitors can relive the event at the Boston Tea Party Ship and Museum.
On December 16, 1773, a gathering of Boston citizens led by patriot Samuel Adams dressed up as Mohawk Indians and boarded three British ships docked in Boston Harbor in search of imported tea. These men, armed with axes and tomahawks, opened the tea logs they found on board and unloaded nearly 10,000 pounds (about 4,500 kilograms) of tea into the harbor. This action was taken by the colonists to show their contempt for England’s attempt to corner the tea market by forcing the colonists to purchase their tea from the British East India Company.
According to patriot George Hewes, a participant in the Boston Tea Party, the patriots worked quickly as thousands of others watched. “In about three hours from the time we boarded, we broke and threw overboard every tea chest that was on the ship,” Hewes said. The following day tea was found floating in the harbour. Bostonians boarded their rowboats and worked their way through the tea forcing it to dissolve in water, so that none of it could be saved.
The Boston Tea Party is a major event in US history as it marked the first show of settler violence and raised the first cries for independence in the Boston area. England had already repealed many of the import taxes on settlers, but kept the tea tax to let settlers know they were still subject to British rule. After the incident, England asked the Boston government to pay for the tea, but the locals refused. As a result, British forces closed Boston Harbor for a period of time, further inciting cries for independence.
Since 1973 the Boston Tea Party Ship and Museum has presented a unique take on the event. Housed in the Brig Beaver, a replica of one of the ships involved in the accident, the museum offers visitors the opportunity to “re-live” the Tea Party. The Ship and Museum are accompanied by two new ship replicas, the Eleanor and the Dartmouth.
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