Qualla: The Boston Tea Party: The Night 92,000 Pounds of Tea Went Into the Harbor

The Boston Tea Party: The Night 92,000 Pounds of Tea Went Into the Harbor: Introduction

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Fletcher6, CC BY 4.0. On the night of December 16, 1773, a group of American colonists boarded three ships in Boston Harbor and threw 342 chests of tea into the water. They were protesting the Tea Act, which gave the British East India Company a monopoly on tea sales in the colonies. The tea was worth £10,000 - roughly $1.7 million in today's money. The colonists called themselves the Sons of Liberty. They dressed as Mohawk Indians, not to fool anyone, but as a symbol of American identity distinct from Britain. The British called it vandalism. The colonists called it protest. History would call it the beginning of the American Revolution.

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Image: Fletcher6 | CC BY 4.0

The Boston Tea Party: The Night 92,000 Pounds of Tea Went Into the Harbor: The Tax

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Humberto Moreno, CC BY 2.0. The conflict over tea had been building for years. Britain had been taxing the colonies to pay for the Seven Years' War. The colonists objected - not to the amount of tax, but to the principle. They had no representatives in Parliament. 'Taxation without representation is tyranny...

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Image: Humberto Moreno | CC BY 2.0

The Boston Tea Party: The Night 92,000 Pounds of Tea Went Into the Harbor: The Ships

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Daderot, Public domain. In late November 1773, three ships carrying East India Company tea arrived in Boston Harbor: the Dartmouth, Eleanor, and Beaver. They carried 342 chests containing 92,000 pounds of tea. Colonial law required that tea be landed and taxed within 20 days of arrival, or it would be s...

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Image: Daderot | Public domain

The Boston Tea Party: The Night 92,000 Pounds of Tea Went Into the Harbor: The Party

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Author unknown., Public domain. On the evening of December 16, several thousand colonists gathered at Old South Meeting House. They voted to prevent the tea from being landed. Samuel Adams announced that nothing more could be done to save the country. This was apparently a signal. A group of men, estimated bet...

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Image: Author unknown. | Public domain

The Boston Tea Party: The Night 92,000 Pounds of Tea Went Into the Harbor: The Destruction

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit John Trumbull, Public domain. The 'Mohawks' divided into three groups, one for each ship. They boarded the vessels, ordered the crews below deck, and got to work. Using axes and tomahawks, they split open the 342 tea chests and dumped the contents into the harbor. The work took about three hours. The tea was...

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Image: John Trumbull | Public domain

The Boston Tea Party: The Night 92,000 Pounds of Tea Went Into the Harbor: The Revolution

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Original uploader was Cornischong at lb.wikipedia, Public domain. Britain's response was swift and harsh. Parliament passed the Coercive Acts - known in the colonies as the Intolerable Acts - which closed Boston Harbor until the tea was paid for, revoked Massachusetts' self-government, and allowed British officials accused of crimes to be tried...

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Image: Original uploader was Cornischong at lb.wikipedia | Public domain