The founding of the country came with many fights against the British Empire, and one of the most famous of these happened in Boston. It was never going to be another quiet tea party for an afternoon's entertainments, but instead turned into the most memorable tea party in history. Rather than a daily ritual for the sophisticated and comfortable, it became a major step toward claiming independence on the road to a new way of life.
Its roots were enmeshed in political ties that kept the new America firmly in the grip of the British Empire. The costs of the French and Indian Wars left deep holes in Britain's pockets, and they looked to the colonies to cover its costs. King George III decided to tax the American colonies to foot the bill for its wars. At the time, the crown was concerned with growing tides of independence that the colonies were demonstrating while the British government was tied up with the battles. In Boston, the rising sentiment toward independence from British rule was very high, fresh on the tails of the the Townsend Acts and the Boston Massacre. However, it was the Stamp Act of 1765 that broke the tide, when the cost of tea included a steep hike in taxes that the Boston colony recognized as the last straw.
In those days, tea played a major role in the daily life of the colonial populations. It was as traditional as any other food staple, and the King was sure they would simply give in. This turned out not to be the case at all, and the people of Boston decided en masse to trade in their tea time for economic and political independence from the King. In major cities like New York, Philadelphia, and Charleston they stopped ships from unloading the tea when the ships arrived at port.
On that fateful day in the bitter December cold, 7,000 colonists found themselves on the dock, cold, angry, and ready to make a stand. It was already decided that they would stop the ships and make them return to Britain without paying any duties, so when the British customs wouldn't return without payment, the crowd made a plan. The group of Bostoners stormed the ships, overpowering the crew, and ceremonially tossed the tea into Boston Harbor. Once the King got word of what had happened, he closed the port entirely, which was a grave error. The fervor for independence now reached its highest pitch, leading to the events that sparked the moves toward full independence. Boston hotels have information for visitors wanting to have a look at the sites that sparked the beginnings of a nation.
