The+Tea+Act

By: Jade Cohen
 * =What is the Tea Act? =

The Tea Act was the only Townshend duty that remained after Lord North repealed the other four. It was intended to be a way for the East India Company to find their way out of the deep financial debt they were struggling with. The English Parliament arranged for the British ships not to have to pay the tax to bring tea into the Americas. Other countries that were selling tea, such as the Dutch, had to pay the tax for their ships to enter the Americas; therefore their tea was more expensive, and they received less business. Once in the Americas, the British lowered the price of the surplus amounts of tea they had, but did not raise the tax that was already in force for the tea. This limited the success of colonial merchants, who were selling tea, because the East India Company was selling it for less. The tea was shipped to the Americas with intentions to sell it at bargain prices, but when the ships arrived, the colonists refused to let them unload because if they did, they would be acknowledging the fact that the British have the right tax them. The colonists noticed a problem with Tea Act and felt it was unfair that they were being taxed by a government that they had no representation in. The colonists were unable to vote for the members of Parliament and felt they should not be taxed by a government made up of members they did not vote for. A group of colonists, known as the Sons of Liberty, took action on December 16th 1773, after several secret meetings, where they discussed how to communicate to Great Britain and make them aware that they would like to have a say in governing themselves. Fifty members from this group of colonists dressed up as Native Americans and invaded three different British ships that were docked in the Boston Harbor. They emptied 342 crates of tea into the Boston Harbor waters, resulting in the East India Company losing a large sum of money that night. The colonists did this to communicate to Britain, that they were not okay with being taxed and they felt their rights were violated. As a result, the British Parliament shut down the Boston Harbor and this event became known as the Boston tea party. ||  || 



 || =Why was the Tea Act Created? = By:Jade Cohen

The Tea Act was created to benefit or help the East India Company which was having major financial troubles. The East India Company had surplus amounts of tea on hand that they were unable to sell. The British government worked to help the East India Company gain wealth, rather than support the colonial smugglers who illegally imported tea, and used their wealth to arrange protests against the British. Therefore, the British parliament arranged for the British ships entering the Americas, not to pay the tax to enter, which allowed them to sell their tea for less in the colonies. The colonists refused to buy the tea because if they did, they would be honoring the fact that the British have the right to tax them. A group of colonists attempted to show the British how they felt by taking part in an event known as the Boston Tea Party. At the end of this event, the East India Company ended up losing a large sum of money, which led to continued financial struggles in which the company originally hoped to fix through the Tea Act || By: Cate Kulowiec
 * =How did the Colonists React to the Tea Act? =

The Colonists did not react well to the Tea Act. One colonist described drinking the East India tea as, “For if you do, the devil will immediately enter into you, and you will instantly become a traitor to your country.” The colonists reacted strongly to the Tea Act because, the East India Tea company determine which colonial merchants could sell the East India tea. Not only did the East India Tea Company have a monopoly on British tea, they had a monopoly on which colonial merchants could sell the tea. The merchants who were not chosen to sell the company’s tea were hurt economically. The Colonists were so upset by the Tea Act that they took drastic action against the company. On December 16, 1773 colonists dressed up as Native Americans and snuck onto the ships that carried the East India Tea Company’s tea. The angry colonists dumped a total of 342 chests of tea into the Boston Harbor. In the quote stated above, some colonist felt that by drinking the East India’s tea “…you will instantly become a traitor to your country”. This quote shows that at the time of the Tea Act some colonists saw themselves as belonging to a country separate from England. = = ||  ||   || =How the British were affected by the Boston Tea Party? = By: Cate Kulowiec  The British were greatly affected by The Boston Tea Party. The British were affected negatively in two ways. The first way was that Britain were hurt was economically. The East India Tea company played a significant role in the British economy. Prior to the Boston Tea Party the British government loaned £1.4 million to the East India Tea Company. The destruction of the valuable tea put the East India Tea Company affected the company’s ability to pay back the loan. Both the British and the East India tea company lost a considerably amount of money as a result of the Tea Party. The second way the British were affected was their relationship with the colonist was further strained. The colonists rejected the oppression of the British laws imposed on the colonies. The British where alarmed by the colonists protesting and rebelling against a law of Parliament. One result of the Boston Tea Party was the British the British passed more oppressive laws as discussed below Parliament passed the Intolerable Acts. For the British colonist, soon to be American revolutionaries the Boston Tea Party marked //“The end of one era and the beginning of another [.”] (American Heritage History of the American// //Revolutionpg.94; Thomas Fleming)// || By: Laura Navarrete
 * =<span style="background-color: #ff0000; color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">How did the Colonists Reactions Affect Themselves? =
 * =<span style="background-color: #ff0000; color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">How did the Colonists Reactions Affect Themselves? =

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">The Tea act affected the American colonists by bringing the Intolerable acts upon themselves. Colonists were very upset with the Tea Act. After the Boston Tea Party occurred, the British were outraged and furious. They lost a lot of money during the Boston Tea Party and felt the colonists needed punishment. So they came up with the five Intolerable Acts. One act included shutting down Boston Harbor until their debt was paid. Other laws in the intolerable act included restricting the power of the Massachusetts legislature and giving the power to the Mass. post governor, creating a dictator. These harsh rules weakened the colonists tremendously, especially those relying on the Boston Harbor for shipments. Because of the intolerable acts colonists in Boston could not get the everyday items they relied on. Items such as clothes, food, soap, drinks, and other goods. Also without the shipments coming in merchants didn’t have anything to sell, therefore their market crashed. The colonists were affected in many bad ways, but because of all their hatred and frustration towards Britain, it also united them and motivated them to fight back. ||  || =<span style="background-color: #ff0000; color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">What Followed the Tea Act? = <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">By: Laura Naverrete ===<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">After the Tea Act and Intolerable Acts came about, the Revolutionary War started. The Tea Act was one of the last conflicts leading up to the Revolutionary War. The Revolutionary War started in 1775, only a few years after the Boston Tea Party. By 1781 the Americans had their last major battle in Yorktown, and defeated the British. During the Revolutionary War 7,200 people died fighting, 10,000 died because of disease, and 8,500 died in British prison. Although the consequences were harsh, the Americans were now free from their mother country. ===

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//“ The Tea Act.” US History. Independence Hall Association,, 4 July 2011. Web. 6 Dec. 2011. <http://www.ushistory.org///.htm>. ||  ||