The Boston Tea Party | The Shot Heard ’Round the World

The British Parliament passed the Tea Act on May 10, 1773, giving the British East India Company a monopoly on tea in the colonies. In November, a ship carrying tea arrived in Boston Harbor, and protesters demanded that it return to England. On December 15, two more ships filled with tea arrived in Boston. The next night, a group of 30 to 60 men dressed as Mohawk Native Americans went to the harbor and dumped the tea into the water. More tea shipments were destroyed by the group in March 1774.

To punish the colony, parliament imposed a blockade on Boston Harbor on March 25, 1774. British General Thomas Gage was appointed military governor in Massachusetts in May 1774. 

As they watch the video, students examine the social, political, and economic causes of the Boston Tea Party.