Why was there a tea party in Boston in 1773?
Read the story that follows. It tells you about an event in the North
American Colonies in 1773.
Early in the evening of 16 December 1773 about 150 men,
dressed in blankets and with their faces painted to look like
Mohawk Indians, walked quickly down to Griffin’s Wharf, Boston
harbour, Massachusetts. They were watched by a crowd of
several thousand people. There, they found three merchant
ships tied up − the Dartmouth, the Eleanor and the Beaver,
surrounded by ships of the Royal Navy. Each ship contained,
among other things, a cargo of tea from China. The tea was
packed in 342 tea chests, and worth an estimated £18,000 −
approximately £1.2 million today.
Each ship was boarded, and the masked men politely asked each Captain for the keys to
the hold. They then unlocked the stores and brought the tea chests to the deck. One
by one they were smashed open and thrown into the sea. Very soon the harbour was
awash with floating tea crates and tea leaves. It all took less than three hours. One or
two people were caught trying to stuff small amounts of the tea into their own pockets
to take home − they were beaten and thrown into the sea too!
When it was all over the men carefully tidied up behind them and quietly left for home,
replacing a broken padlock on one of the doors. And so ended the Boston Tea Party …
NB: Mohawk Indians were the original inhabitants of the area around Boston. They made
a living from farming, but also hunted and fished. They had been largely wiped out
following the arrival of Europeans − either by disease or war.
Discussion points:
 Why do you think the men might have boarded the ships?
 Who could the people on board have been and what were they doing?
 Why might the crowds have gathered on shore?
Task:
Watch the first part of the documentary Days that Shook the World: the Boston tea
party (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5u5NVN3whg)
Jot down any causes of the event which the clip mentions:
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Why was there a tea party in Boston in 1773?
Causes card-sort
Everybody wanted tea! In
the first half of the
eighteenth century it had
been very expensive.
Only the rich could afford
it. Ladies kept the key to
a locked tea-caddy tied
around their waists!
A British business called
the East India Company
controlled the trade in
tea. Britain had allowed
it to develop a
monopoly. But cheaper
tea began to be smuggled
into America from
Holland. The British
government couldn’t
allow this!
The British government
reduced the taxes it
charged the East India
Company to allow it to
compete with the
cheaper Dutch tea. To
make up for this loss in
revenue, in 1767 it
placed a new tax on the
sale of tea in the
colonies, making tea
more expensive!
Many people in America
were beginning to feel
that it was morally wrong
for the British
government to charge
taxes in its colonies when
the American people did
not have a voice in the
British Parliament. Their
slogan was ‘no taxation
without representation!’
The British became angry
that the American
colonies were resisting
paying tax. They felt it
was right for them to pay
because the British army
helped to defend them
against the French and
native Americans.
Britain needed money to
pay off debts. In the
1760s the British had
fought expensive wars in
France and India.
The Stamp Act of 1765
allowed the British to
charge taxes on all
printed materials in the
colonies including
newspapers and playing
cards! Many felt this was
an attempt to prevent
revolutionary ideas
spreading in America.
In 1770 British soldiers
open fired on a crowd of
people who had gathered,
in Boston, around the
officials responsible to
enforcing British laws in
the colonies. Five people
were killed. The soldiers
responsible were
acquitted of murder.
When the East India tea
ships arrived in 1773 a
huge crowd gathered. Its
leaders decided not to
allow the tea to come
ashore.
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Why was there a tea party in Boston in 1773?
Word bank
monopoly; when one company has control of all the trade in a particular product
revenue; money earned by governments from taxes
parliament; a group of people elected to make decisions of behalf of the country
representation; speaking on behalf of another person or group of people
revolutionary; in favour of ending the current government
acquitted; found not guilty of a crime
Card-sort tasks
Working in pairs;
 Read through the cards carefully to make sure you understand them − the work
bank may be helpful.
 Divide the cards into long term and short term causes. Which issues seem to have
been building over time and which were ‘trigger’ causes?
 Can you think of any other categories / ways of organising the cards?
 Which of the cards do you think describes the most important cause of the Boston
tea party?
Consequences
The British Government passed the Coercive Acts in 1774 to punish the people of Boston.
The port was closed, four regiments of soldiers were sent to the town, a tougher
Governor was appointed, and people in Boston were forced to house and feed British
soldiers if required. They hoped this would persuade the Colonies to pay their taxes.
But the colonies still refused. Finally, by 1776, things boiled over into the American War
of Independence.
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Why was there a tea party in Boston in 1773?
Extension questions
1. Do you think the colonies should have paid taxes to the British Government?
Explain your answer.
2. Which of these statements do you think best explains why the Boston Tea Party
happened:



It was about taxation. The British Government said the colonies should pay it
and the colonies said they shouldn’t.
It was about who should govern the colonies − the British or the colonists
themselves.
It was about taxation and who should govern the colonies.
Write a paragraph to explain your choice.
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Why was there a tea party in Boston in 1773?
Teaching notes
Starter
Picture relay race: The picture for this task is attached as a separate PDF.
Divide the class into groups of three/four. Place copies of the starter picture at the
front of the room. The aim of the task is for groups to accurately recreate the picture,
from memory, including as much of the detail as possible. Ask each team to nominate
one artist who will stay seated throughout. On the start of the clock, one of the
remaining members from each team visits the picture at the front and has 30 seconds to
recall as much as possible of what they see. They then return to their group and have
30 seconds to describe as much as possible of what they have seen to the artist, who
draws what they are told about. The next team member then visits the picture and so
on. When you feel enough of then teams have made a reasonable attempt at recreating
the picture, stop the clock and compare the attempts. Ask students to recall the key
details of they have seen and to try to interpret the picture.
Main tasks
Both tasks one and two below are ‘scene setting’ tasks – if time is short you could
complete just one of them.
1. Read through the account of the Boston tea party on p.1 and complete the
discussion tasks suggested underneath.
2. Watch the first part of the documentary Days that Shook the World: the Boston tea
party (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5u5NVN3whg) which is nine minutes
long and complete the task on p.1. The link here was correct and working at the
time of publication, but do check ahead of relying on it in class.
3. Ask students to work in pairs. Issue each pair with a set of the cards from p. 2 and
complete the tasks on p.3.
4. You may wish some students to complete the suggested extension questions on p.3.
Starter image credits
The Boston Tea Party
Credit: Bridgeman Art Library / Universal Images Group
Copyright notice: Copyright Bridgeman Art Library
For education use only. This and millions of other educational images are available through Britannica
Image Quest. For a free trial, please visit Britannica for Schools
<http://www.britannica.co.uk/education/britannica-education-school_ImageQuest.asp>
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