The United States is a country steeped in myths, stories, and powerful images, especially from the American Revolution. Few stories have endured like the Boston Tea Party. Some of the basic facts about the Boston Tea Party are fairly well known. It took place, of course, in Boston, on the evening of December 16, 1773, at a place called Griffin's Wharf. Over the course of three hours, at least 116 people helped to heave 90,000 lbs. of tea into the harbor [source: The Boston Tea Party]. At the time, the tea was worth 10,000 British pounds, or about $1,000,000 today [source: The Boston Tea Party]. That 90,000 lbs. of tea represented the equivalent of 18.5 million cups of tea and turned the water in the harbor brown for several days [sources: The Old South Meeting House and The American Revolution].
Currier and Ives/The Bridgeman Art Library/Getty Images
The Boston Tea Party (print), 1846. See more pictures of Boston
We know who many of the 116 or so protesters were but many also remain unknown. And only one man, a fellow various called Francis Akeley or Francis Eckley, was sent to jail. So what caused this famous act of protest? Were people really dressed as American Indians, and why? What does the Boston Tea Party have to do with "taxation without representation?"
In this article, we'll take a look at those questions and more as we consider this important event in American history. We'll also discuss what exactly caused the residents of Boston to be so upset about a few shipments of tea and why those patriots' acts may have contributed to the start of the American Revolution.
 Walter Sanders//Time Life Pictures/Getty Images A view of a plaque in honor of the Boston Tea Party. |
