AP US History in 1 Minute Daily: The Tea Act & Boston Tea Party (Day 42/309)

Welcome to today’s explanation of the Tea Act and the Boston Tea Party in my series- APUSH in 1 Minute Daily!

First edition of the Tea Act 1773, Boston Tea Party Ship

In 1773, the British passed a new law, the Tea Act in order to bail out the British East India Company and raise revenue.

British East India Company Coat of Arms, Wikimedia Commons

It granted the British East India Company a monopoly and eliminated competition. While it maintained the existing import duty, it actually made tea cheaper to buy.

A 1774 cartoon, published in London, shows British figures forcing tea on a female figure representing America. The Atlantic

However, American colonists viewed the act as an attempt to undermine their rights, control their trade, and legitimize the practice of taxation without representation. Colonial leaders organized protests and boycotts to voice their resentments.

Boston Tea Party, Wikimedia Commons

On December 16, 1773, the Sons of Liberty boarded British ships in Boston Harbor. They dumped the entire shipment of tea into the water in a demonstration of civil disobedience that became known as the Boston Tea Party.

The British Tea Act created a monopoly on the tea sold to the colonies. In protest, colonists boycotted and in the Boston Tea Party, dumped the entire shipment into the harbor.

Join me tomorrow as I explain the Intolerable Acts in our next APUSH in 1 Minute Daily!