The Tea Act Of 1773
Slide 2
The Seven Year’s War of between 1754 and 1763 and the signing of the Treaty of Paris to end the skirmishes formed the foundations on which tensions emerged between the Thirteen Colonies and the mother country (Zinn, 2005, p.59).
Two factors facilitated the emergence of independence sentiments in the colonies as the colonies no longer needed the protection of the powerful Britons:
The war brought perceptions of equality between the colonists and the English populace residing in the mother country (Foner, 2011, p.189).
Britain was at a disadvantage as it remained with an “enormous debt and vastly enlarged overseas possessions to defend” (Foner, 2011, p.185).
Slide 3
Through the Act, the British Parliament targeted both America’s and England’s main trading goods; sugar and tea to pay the Crown’s debts (Danver, 2010, p.191).
At the same time, the Tea Act authorized the East India Company to monopolize the tea market in the colonies.
The Act reduced the cost of its subject commodity and highlighted a reduction in the prices as a method of preventing boycotts of the product.
Slide 4
The reasons of the Tea Act of 1773 were evident in three spheres of the American societies;
Political- As the Sovereign ruler in the Thirteen Colonies, the English Monarch had all the rights to impose new laws in the territories
Economical-After the Seven Year’s War, Britain had debts to clear and for that reason, the Empire turned to the production (tea) in part of its colonies (India) and exportation for sale in other regions (North America) hoping to make good profits (Foner 2011, p.194).
Social-To the Monarch, the North America colonies existed to benefit the mother country and as a result, using the people as a ready market for British products was acceptable. After all, since Britain fought the Spanish and the French to protect the Thirteen Colonies, the colonists had to help settle the debts incurred during the war (Danver, 2010, p.191).
Slide 5
The implementation of the Tea Act in the colonies had three major effects;
It closed off a lucrative business for smugglers (Danver, 2010, p.193).
The terms of the document placed the law-abiding tea traders at a disadvantage as their products were more expensive than the East India Company tea (Danver, 2010, p.193).
The colonists regarded the tea as a symbol of tyranny.
Slide 6 and 7
Pro Arguments focused on the fact that the tea was cheap and a way of the superior mother country to provide for the colonies.
The Opposing Arguments insisted the Tea Act was tyrannical and a disadvantage to people (Danver, 2010, p.193).
Slide 8 and 9
Every colonist’s reaction depended on whether or not he or she was a patriot. Loyalists were for the new legislation while nationalists opposed the same.
Slide 10
Patriots terrorizing a colonist working for the British as a tax collector, such methods were standard as a means to discourage loyalists in the Thirteen Colonies.
Slide 11
An image of the Boston Tea Party obtained from the Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History.
Slide 12
The Tea Act of 1773 was unwelcome just because it defied the perceptions of liberty and independence.
Slide 13
Until after the Seven Year’s War, Britain allowed Americans to rule themselves with little to no intervention from the mother country.
Slide 14 and 15
The Tea Act of 1773 was indeed a catalyst for the American Revolutionary War.
Slide 16
The English Monarch overestimated its power in the colonies by forcing the colonists to follow its laws.
Slide 17
References
Boston Tea Party (1773). (1999). Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History. Retrieved March 30, 2016, from Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History: http://www.encyclopedia.com
Danver, S. L. (2010). Revolts, Protests, Demonstrations, and Rebellions in American History: An Encyclopedia. California: ABC-CLIO.
Foner, E. (2011). Give Me Liberty!: An American History (3rd ed., Vol. I). New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
Zinn, H. (2005). A People's History of the United States. New York: Harper Perennial Modern Classics.
