Parliament meanwhile passes the Tea Act to…
1773 CE
Special consignees are appointed to sell the tea in order to bypass colonial merchants.
In most instances, the consignees are forced to resign and the tea is turned back, but Massachusetts governor Hutchinson refuses to allow Boston merchants to give in to pressure.
A town meeting in Boston determines that the tea will not be landed, and ignores a demand from the governor to disperse.
On December 16, 1773, a group of men, led by Samuel Adams and dressed to evoke the appearance of natives, board the ships of the British East India Company and dump £10,000 worth of tea from their holds (approximately £636,000 in 2008) into Boston Harbor.
Decades later, this event will become known as the Boston Tea Party and will remain a significant part of American patriotic lore.
Groups
Netherlands, United Provinces of the (Dutch Republic)
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Thirteen Colonies, The
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Massachusetts, Province of (English Crown Colony)
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Britain, Kingdom of Great
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East India Company, British (United Company of Merchants of England Trading to the East Indies)
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Patriots (American Revolution)
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