The  Boston  Tea Party

In response to the unpopular Act, tea agents in many American cities resigned or cancelled orders, and merchants refused consignments. In Boston, however, Governor Thomas Hutchinson resolved to uphold the law and ordered that three ships arriving in Boston Harbour be allowed to deposit their cargoes and that appropriate payment be made for the goods. This policy prompted about sixty men, including some members of the Sons of Liberty, to board the ships on the night (disguised as Native Americans) and dump the tea chests into the water. The event became known as the Boston  Tea  Party.

The dumping of the tea in the harbour was the most destructive act that the colonists had taken against Britain thus far. The previous rioting and looting of British officials’ houses over the Stamp Act had been minor compared to the thousands of pounds in damages to the  ships and tea. Governor Hutchinson, angered by the colonists’ disregard for authority and disrespect for property, left for England. The “tea  party” was a bold and daring step forward on the road  to  outright revolution