What was the cause of the Boston Tea Party and what was its significance?
American colonists, frustrated and angry at Britain for imposing “taxation without representation,” dumped 342 chests of tea, imported by the British East India Company into the harbor. The event was the first major act of defiance to British rule over the colonists.
How did the Boston Tea Party change history?
The Boston Tea Party was the first significant act of defiance by American colonists. The implication and impact of the Boston Tea Party was enormous ultimately leading to the sparking of the American Revolution which began in Massachusetts on April 19, 1775.
How did the Boston Tea Party impact the American Revolution?
The Boston Tea Party was the key-event for the Revolutionary War. With this act, the colonists started the violent part of the revolution. It was the first try of the colonists, to rebel with violence against their own government. Then they (the government) passed taxes on lead, paint, paper and tea.
Why were the colonists responsible for the Boston Massacre?
Prelude to the Boston Massacre More than 2,000 British soldiers occupied the city of 16,000 colonists and tried to enforce Britain’s tax laws, like the Stamp Act and Townshend Acts. American colonists rebelled against the taxes they found repressive, rallying around the cry, “no taxation without representation.”
What was the most significant outcome of the Boston Massacre?
What was the most significant outcome of the Boston Massacre? It demonstrated to the colonists that British troops would resort to violence and restore order in the colonies.
Who started the Boston Massacre and why?
The Boston Massacre began the evening of March 5, 1770 with a small argument between British Private Hugh White and a few colonists outside the Custom House in Boston on King Street. The argument began to escalate as more colonists gathered and began to harass and throw sticks and snowballs at Private White.
How did the British respond to the Boston Tea Party?
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.
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.
Why did the British pass the Tea Act?
On April 27, 1773, the British Parliament passes the Tea Act, a bill designed to save the faltering East India Company from bankruptcy by greatly lowering the tea tax it paid to the British government and, thus, granting it a de facto monopoly on the American tea trade.
What tax caused the Boston Tea Party?
The policy ignited a “powder keg” of opposition and resentment among American colonists and was the catalyst of the Boston Tea Party. The passing of the Tea Act imposed no new taxes on the American colonies. The tax on tea had existed since the passing of the 1767 Townshend Revenue Act.
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.
Why did the colonists dress as Mohawks during the Boston Tea Party?
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.
Did the Boston Tea Party burn the ships?
After throwing the chests into the lake, the raiders abandoned ship and paddled back to land. In addition, no ships were burned during the actual Boston Tea Party in December 1773.