Independence Day and Tea

Tea is an integral part of our history in our fight for independence from Great Britain. One of the most famous stories is the Boston Tea Party.

The Boston Tea Party, a precursor to the American Revolution, was actually a political protest that occurred on December 16, 1773, at Griffin’s Wharf in Boston, Massachusetts. American colonists, frustrated and angry at Britain for imposing “taxation without representation,” and the East India Company for its perceived monopoly, disguised themselves as Mohawk Indians and dumped 342 chests of tea, imported by the British East India Company, into the harbor.

It’s estimated that the protestors tossed more than 92,000 pounds of tea into Boston Harbor. That’s enough to fill 18.5 million teabags. The present-day value of the destroyed tea was likely more than $1 million.

There was a second Boston Tea Party three months later. Bostonians once again sent tea splashing when 60 disguised men boarded the Fortune in March 1774, forced the crew below deck, and dumped tea chests into the harbor. This sequel wasn’t quite as impressive as the original, as only 30 chests were sent overboard.

Subsequent “tea parties” were held in other colonies throughout 1774. In cities such as New York, Annapolis, and Charleston, South Carolina, patriots dumped tea off ships or burned it in protest.

However, it was the British reaction to the Boston Tea Party, not the event itself, that rallied Americans and set the wheels in motion for the American Revolution.

So to all the brave men who fought so valiantly for our freedom back in 1776, and to the men and women, who have continued to fight for and protect our freedom ever since, we owe you an undying debt of gratitude. THANK YOU!!!