Rebellion In Boston

COLONIAL CHRONICLE May 22, 1774

Bostonians Rebel By Kevin Wideman A group of British colonists dressed as Mohawk Indians stormed three recently docked three ships from the East India Company. Within three hours they had disposed of all the tea on the ships by throwing them into the harbor. What first started out as a tea tax turned out to be the start of a catastrophic riot for the British. In September the almost bankrupt East India Company, with the help of the British Government, planned to ship 500,000 pounds of tea to the colonies. In Early December the ships finally arrived in Boston, Massachusetts but were denied being able to dock. The ships would have returned to England, but Boston’s Governor Thomas Hutchinson forced the three ships to remain floating precariously around the Boston harbor. Hutchinson being loyal to the British did not want to seem a traitor to the crown. The only supposed threat to the colonists’ plan to thwart the British was that British law clearly stated the tea had to be unloaded within twenty days or it would be forcibly docked by way of cannon fire. This led to dramatic action. If the colonists did not let the ships dock by the seventeenth of December, then the three ships would plow their way through any opposition until they reached land. This unfortunately meant that the colonists would have to defend themselves among a shower of cannon fire. On the day prior to the seventeenth there was a meeting held among the citizens of Boston to decide what action should be taken. Samuel Adams, Josiah Quincy, and John Hancock formed a committee of correspondence and became known as the sons of liberty. They were a key element in

planning the strike against the East India Company. Participant George Hewes describes what occurred that night. After the disappearance of the Governor, He says “…. The meeting was immediately dissolved, many of them crying out, “Let everyman do his duty, and be true to his country”.” Describing getting ready “…It was now evening, and I immediately dressed myself in the costume of an Indian, Equipped with a small hatchet, and a club, after having painted my face and hands with coal dust in the shop of a blacksmith….” According to Hewes, as the group assembled he didn’t know who was with him. The only thing he knew was the name of his commander “Leonard Pitt” and what he was there to do. After the group of 150 or so men assembled, they split up into three groups. Each group was assigned one of the three ships. After being assigned, we waited until given the order to enter the boats. Upon entering the ship Hewes was told to get the key from the captain and some candles. The captain agreed to the command, but had one request. He asked us to not damage the ship or the riggings. We were then ordered to throw the chests of tea into the water. Within three hours 90,000 pounds of tea worth 10,000 British pounds belonging to the East India Company was dumped into the harbor. Among the participants was Captain O’Connor who was caught filling his coat with tea. He was severely punished and stripped of all his clothes and thrown in the mud. Many others were punished along with O’Connor, but were let off easy because of their old age.

Even the smallest detail was considered by this group of colonists. A padlock belonging to a captain of one of the ships was reported to have been damaged in all the bustling excitement. It was replaced with a new lock before the night was over. The morning after the event, people observed what could be described as “large clumps” of tea floating on the water. So a group of colonists and sailors rowed out in rowboats and beat the tea with oars until it was under water. This was done to insure the complete destruction of all the tea to complete their cause. This was also done to prevent any citizen from sailing out and acquiring any of the tea for their own personal use. When word reached the British Government, Parliament was infuriated saying this was an act of vandalism. In response to the colonists’

Courtesy of W.D. Cooper

tyrannical behavior Officials created the coercive acts to punish the Bostonians for their “tea party”. These acts have prevented any use of Boston’s harbor until the price of the tea has been repaid. It also eliminated self-government in Boston. After the incidents in Boston The East India Company sailed to New York in an effort to salvage a profit selling tea. A mob boarded the ship and repeated what occurred in Boston. This is the start of what I perceive will be a chain of boycotting the East India Company tea. Along with the boycott of tea, there is a start of many radical antiBritish protests.

Kevin Wideman, a 22-year-old German immigrant, is an aspiring young journalist who’s past articles have inspired and revolutionized the colonies.