Why did the colonists protest the Tea Act?
The act’s main purpose was not to raise revenue from the colonies but to bail out the floundering East India Company, a key actor in the British economy. Their resistance culminated in the Boston Tea Party on December 16, 1773, in which colonists boarded East India Company ships and dumped their loads of tea overboard.
What was the British response to the tea dumping?
The British response to the Boston Tea Party was to impose even more stringent policies on the Massachusetts colony. The Coercive Acts levied fines for the destroyed tea, sent British troops to Boston, and rewrote the colonial charter of Massachusetts, giving broadly expanded powers to the royally appointed governor.
Why did the colonists dress up as Mohawks?
The disguise was mostly symbolic in nature; they knew they would be recognized as non-Indians. The act of wearing “Indian dress” was to express to the world that the American colonists identified themselves as “Americans” and no longer considered themselves British subjects.
How much was the British tea tax?
The act granted the EIC a monopoly on the sale of tea that was cheaper than smuggled tea; its hidden purpose was to force the colonists to pay a tax of 3 pennies on every pound of tea. The Tea Act thus retained the three pence Townshend duty on tea imported to the colonies.
What are some important facts about the Boston Tea Party?
7 Surprising Facts About the Boston Tea Party
- Colonists weren’t protesting a higher tax on tea.
- The attacked ships were American and the tea wasn’t the King’s.
- The tea was Chinese, not Indian, and lots of it was green.
- The Tea Party, itself, didn’t incite revolution.
What did the Tea Party stand for?
The Tea Party movement was an American fiscally conservative political movement within the Republican Party. Members of the movement called for lower taxes, and for a reduction of the national debt of the United States and federal budget deficit through decreased government spending.