The more historical events move away from the present, the more magnificent they are covered with a romantic fleur. In 1917, a relatively small group of propagandized sailors in Petrograd arrested the legitimate interim government, and a couple of decades later the legend of heavy battles with cadets and the “Death Battalion” was made from this episode by means of cinema, and the talented director simply hung the forged gates with the masses , it’s not clear why climbing onto open sashes. The events of the Civil War were romanticized beyond all limits. Our fellow citizens understand technology by manipulating consciousness with the help of art, media and history books, but how do Americans relate to this? Facts speak of their naivety. So, the famous "Boston Tea Party" of 1773, most of them consider the beginning of the struggle for independence.
What do we know about Boston Tea Party?
The very name of this event causes a person who does not know the history of the United States very well to associate with a certain collection of founding fathers who are familiar from portraits on dollar bills sitting at a served table with cups in their hands. The fact that the "Boston Tea Party" occurred in the city of Boston, in the territory under the name Massachusetts, which later became the state, and then part of the British colony, is clear from the name. And tea is also relevant to this historical fact. But they didn’t drink it, they drowned it. But first things first.
The name of the event is pronounced ironic. To understand why a large amount of expensive goods was destroyed, one should know the international situation preceding this. What year did the Boston Tea Party take place? What was the situation in overseas possessions of Britain? Who caused the disgrace and why?
The British Empire and its overseas possessions
In the second half of the 18th century, almost the entire territory of the modern United States was a colony of Great Britain. The commonality of language, religious rites and the predominant ethnic composition of the immigrants gave this administrative subordination a certain harmony. The habit of drinking tea, although not a former essential product, was also exclusively an English habit. Nobody thought about how to fight for independence from the mother country.
However, there were still some contradictions, and they were of an economic nature.
The economic crisis and methods for overcoming it
The seven-year war waged by Britain, pretty devastated the royal treasury. To improve matters, Parliament decided to increase the tax burden on overseas possessions. It all began eight years before the 1773 Boston Tea Party. The control of fiscal revenues was difficult due to the large geographical distance of the American continent; it took about three months to overcome the Atlantic at that time. The difficult economic situation was aggravated by the critical situation, bordering on the complete bankruptcy of the main state-owned enterprise of the empire engaged in foreign trade - the East India Company. To save her from ruin was a matter of national importance, and for this the British government provided her with preferences, mainly regarding fees and taxes, or rather, exemption from them.
Tea trade in the New World
Tea in the British colonies of North America came through various channels - both official and smuggled. Over the years, a certain market equilibrium has developed , in which the consumer could choose between the goods of a legal supplier (usually more expensive) and cheap, but imported, bypassing customs. As a result of the possible trade intervention of the East India Company, the whole situation was changing radically. The locals did not like it.
From the point of view of an ordinary buyer, nothing terrible happened. If a resident of Boston is not directly related to the trade in colonial goods, then what is the difference to him, in essence, in which shop to buy tea? But this is only at first glance. Having ruined suppliers-competitors, the East India Company received an unlimited monopoly regime of trade, and at the same time the ability to force all consumers to buy goods at the price that they consider right. Not everyone understood this right away, but there was a man who was able to carry out explanatory work among the population. His name was Samuel Adams.
"Sons of Freedom" and their leader
The idea of ​​independence of the North American states has not yet taken possession of the minds of the masses, but has already wandered in some heads. The adherents of separatism called themselves the "Sons of Freedom", they professed radical views on independence. Ultimately, it was they who organized the Boston Tea Party. The year 1773 was the date of decisive action for the “Sons of Liberty” and their leader, Samuel Adams. The organization used the most revolutionary methods. During the unrest, all those who disagreed were subjected to obstruction, and their property could easily be damaged, or even destroyed. This applies to housing and shops.
In total, at the first stage, the East India Company envisaged the delivery of three consignments of goods. The first of these arrived on Dartmouth in Boston Harbor on November 27th. A little later, two more ships, the Beaver and the Eleanor, came here.
In the holds were 342 large bales (45 tons), totaling ÂŁ 10,000. The sum at that time was not just huge, but astronomical.
Conflict development
The propaganda efforts of Adams and his “Sons” yielded results, there was no one to unload the court, they were idle in the port, and the teams listened to the cries of the protesters gathering at the crowded protest rallies. A week later, the captain of the Dartmouth Roach proposed an option that seemed to him a compromise: tea remains on the ships, and they return to where they arrived in the UK. But it was not there.
Special words deserve the actions of those persons who should serve as a stronghold of British power. It was Governor Hudchinson who ordered the harbor to be blocked and to prevent Dartmouth, Bivera and Eleanor from leaving it. In the course of further events, a significant part of the local police sided with the rebels.
How was the Boston Tea Party
On the night of December 16, several dozens of Boston residents (the exact number is as difficult to establish as the number of people carrying the log together with Lenin on the first subbotnik) got into Dartmouth, and from it to Eleanor and Biver. Before the attack, for some reason, they painted themselves under the Indians. Why this was done is not reliably known, it is clear, however, that they had no intention of impersonating the Mohawks, and that would not have happened. Perhaps such a masquerade gave the action the character of a fun adventurous adventure. As a result, all the tea brought was in the Boston Gulf. The item was hopelessly spoiled, the East India Company suffered huge losses. This was the Boston Tea Party.
The effects of tea drinking
News then spread slowly. At first they reached New York and caused a surge of enthusiasm for the inhabitants of all British North American colonies. In London, they learned about the incident only three months later. The “Boston Tea Party” by the British government was qualified as a riot, which, in general, was true. Decisions were prompt and harsh. They consisted of an order to block Boston, impose an embargo on trade with Massachusetts, remove the local administration and establish martial law. General Thomas Gage was appointed new governor. The solutions, in general, are correct, but it was not easy to implement them.
Important lesson
By decision of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, armed resistance began. The slogan “Freedom or Death”, uttered by Patrick Henry in Virginia, found a response in the hearts of the Bostonians, and later all who henceforth considered themselves Americans. Gage did not help even the reinforcements that arrived from England, commanded by William Howe. The full-scale War of Independence began in the spring of 1775.
Of course, the separation of the North American colonies from the metropolis was not due to the sinking of a batch of tea, even a large one, in the deep sea. But ironically, the Boston Tea Party, which happened solely for economic reasons, demonstrated Britain’s inability to retain remote territories showing a will for independence.