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In Boston, however, Mr Thomas
Hutchinson was governor. Hutchinson was pro-British and ready to
pay the tax and unload three tea ships that had arrived earlier in
Boston Harbor.
Radical
minded folks were outraged and proceeded as
follows:
A group of about 60
American patriots dressed up as Native Americans, sneaked on board
and pushed the tea into Boston Harbor.
That was on the night of
December 16, 1773. Among those who pushed the tea overboard was
Samuel Adams and Paul Revere.
The tea belonged to the East India
Company. The lost cargo was estimated to having had a value of
18,000 British Pounds.
Why did they do IT?
In a nutshell, there
were two reasons.
One:
Taxation without representation.
As things stood, Britain had the right to tax the colonies but
denied them parliamentary representation.
Two:
The monopoly of the East India Company. The company was by law
(Tea Act of 1773) entitled to be the only agency to sell tea to the
colonies.
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