How Did The Boston Tea Party Lead To The American Revolution?
| BEST Quick Answer:
1. Step One: To generate revenue & create a monopoly on the 13 Colonies’ tea market, in 1773, the Parliament of Great Britain passed an act, called the “Tea Act 1773”. 2. Step Two: The new act badly affected the colonies’ local businesses that were associated with tea. It angered local merchants and shippers so much. 3. Step Three: As resistance to the tea act, on December 16th, 1773, some patriots from the “Sons of Liberty” executed the Boston Tea Party incident by throwing 342 chests of the British East India Company’s tea at Boston Harbor. The incident led the English company to a huge economic loss. 4. Step Four: In the next year (1774), to punish colonists for their doing, the British Parliament passed five Coercive Acts. Colonists named them “Intolerable Acts”. 5. Step Five: To counter these bad laws, the colonies’ leaders met in the First & Second Continental Congress. However, both Congresses failed to convince Britain to repel the bad laws. It heightened the tension to a next level 6. Step Six: On April 19th, 1775, the battles of Lexington & Concord took place. The battle fully triggered the Revolutionary War of independence. Read in-depth below. |
In-Depth Explanation – How The Boston Tea Party Led To The American Revolution?
So, how and why did the Boston tea party lead the whole struggle of the colonists to the glorious American Revolution?
Have any idea about it?
Actually, the tea party happened as a resistance to the Tea Act of 1773, passed by the Parliament of Great Britain.
Using the power of this act, they were trying to provide direct help to the British East India Company to create a monopoly in the North American colonies’ whole tea market.
To make that happen, they specifically reduced the taxes on the import of the company’s tea to the colonies.
As a result, the East India Company succeeded in selling its product at a low cost among the colonists.
The act threatened the merchants of the 13 colonies, who were already associated with the tea business.
For them, the new act was discriminatory & unacceptable under any circumstances.
As a response to the injustice, some colonists (rebels or patriots) executed the Boston tea party incident on the 16th of December 1773, which made huge economic losses to the company.
Also, the way of resistance was a huge disaster for the authority of Great Britain.
This incident by the patriots made the British government and King George III quite angry. Hence, they decided to take some tough actions against them.
In the following year, the British Parliament subsequently passed five Coercive Acts to punish the colonists.
Due to the acts’ vengeful character, colonists named them Intolerable Acts.
Those five Intolerable Acts were:
- The Boston Port Act (1774)
- The Massachusetts Government Act (1774)
- The Quebec Act (1774)
- The Administration of Justice Act (1774)
- Quartering Act (1774), etc.
Actions Through The Acts Came Out Something Like This
1. The British government decided to close all trade through Boston Harbor.
Also, they declared to continue this close until the colonists pay the compensation to the British East India Company.
The Parliament even demanded Bostonians apologize to English King George III. Of course, this was a humiliating demand to the colonists.
2. The British Parliament decided to re-impose the Quartering Act, under which colonists would have to provide shelter to British soldiers in their private homes.
You need to know that 1774’s Quartering Act was the second version of 1765’s Quartering Act.
3. Under the Quebec Act, the land segment of Canada’s Quebec province increased towards America’s midwest.
Through this law, the British government also tried increasing religion-centric distances between Christian Catholics and Protestants.
4. Under the Massachusetts Government Act, the British made their military commander the governor of the Massachusetts province. They did it so that they can take strict actions against the rebels.
The act arrogated the Massachusetts Charter of 1691.
5. The Administrative of Justice Act was the worst among all the five Intolerable Acts.
Patriots like George Washington named it the “Murder Act”. Because the act encouraged British royal officials to commit crimes against the colonists and run away to the other parts of the British Empire.
Colonists’ Response To The Intolerable Acts
Against all these obstinate decisions of the British Parliament, 12 of the 13 colonies united in 1774 on 5th October at the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia.
This unification was the very first step toward the formation of the United States of America.
In the First Continental Congress, colonies decided that they would end up all trade with Britain and boycott their economic goods.
Going one step ahead, they even decided to set up colonies’ own militias for inevitable armed conflict against English Red Coats.
Eventually, the battles of Lexington and Concord took place on April 19th, 1775. This incident fully kicked off the Revolutionary War of America’s independence.
After that, the Second Continental Congress happened on May 10th, 1775, where all 13 colonies came together.
Here, they decided to be ready for more major battles against Great Britain.
Although, after the Second Continental Congress, the British tried to solve the problem via some negotiations, it was too late by now.
Because the colonists were no longer willing to make any compromises with the British government.
Now, if they want something, it was only the full independence of the 13 colonies.
Conclusion
We hope, now you have understood how did the Boston tea party lead to the American Revolution.
Still, have any doubts?
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