Was The Boston Tea Party A Riot?
| BEST Quick Answer:
For the British authority, the tea party was definitely a riot because the event was completely against their interests. British East India Company lost more than 1 million dollars during the incident. But at the same time, for the American colonists, it was a glorious resistance against the British government’s unjust tea act. So for them, it was not a riot. Now it is upon you, what do you want to think about it? The protest was not violent, nor patriots had any intention to kill or physically harm someone. As an American, I feel proud about that. Read more in-depth below. |
Was The Boston Tea Party A Riot? :(Step-By-Step)
So, was the Boston tea party just a riot or the beginning of the American Revolution?
Well, in our opinion, we can’t answer directly to it as a riot or something else. Because there were two sides involved with that event and both sides seemed to it differently.
One is the British side and another is the American side, who were the patriots also.
So, let’s try to discuss both sides’ points of view.
1. How Did The British See It?
For the English authority, it was a riot. The British Parliament and King George III saw the event as a major threat to their authority over the 13 colonies.
In the next year (1774), to punish the colonists for the tea party, they passed 5 Intolerable Acts.
These 5 acts worsen the tensions between the colonies and the English authority, which finally triggered the Revolutionary War in 1775.
2. How Did The Colonists See It?
In 1773, the British Parliament passed the Tea Act. Through this act, they intended directly to help its East India Company to monopolize the North American colonies’ whole tea market.
The act specifically reduced the taxes on the British East India company’s tea. American colonists believed it was a discriminatory law and a violation of their Englishmen’s rights.
As a resistance to the bad tea act, some American patriots executed the Boston tea party incident on December 16th, 1773. It led the British East India Company to a massive revenue loss.
And of course, after that, the British authority called it a crime. For them, it was not a big deal to call it a riot.
But, at the same time, the patriots, who executed that incident, considered it a big win against the British government’s unjust decision.
For the Patriots, the Boston tea party was not a riot but the beginning of America’s independence struggle.
So, now you decide for yourself, was the Boston tea party a riot or something else?
Was The Boston Tea Party A Peaceful Protest?
No men lost their lives, nobody was physically attacked by the patriots’ group. The patriots just boarded the ship and threw the tea boxes into the ocean.
That’s it.
From this perspective, it was definitely a peaceful protest. Although, different people see it differently.
So, we don’t think that it has a universal answer.
What Was The Main Goal of The Boston Tea Party?
The main purpose of the Boston tea party was to show that the British Parliament doesn’t have the authority to enact any tax laws for the American colonies unless they provide colonists’ own representatives in its Parliament.
How Did The British Government Respond To The Incident?
In response to the Boston tea party, the Parliament of Great Britain imposed 5 Intolerable Acts on the 13 colonies.
These 5 acts were the last move from the British Parliament, which led the entire struggle to the Revolutionary War of independence.
