The Boston Tea Party: A Defining Event in American History
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The Boston Tea Party: A Defining Event in American History
The Boston Tea Party: A Defining Event in American History
John Adams called the Boston Tea Party the spark that led to the American Revolution and independence. Discover records and research that can help you better understand this important event and the people who lived through it. Did your ancestors participate in or witness the Boston Tea Party? American Ancestors has many resources that can help you investigate potential family connections to Revolutionary-era Boston and New England.
Boston Tea Party Facts & Figures
Where did the Boston Tea Party take place?
Boston Harbor, Massachusetts
Key outcome:
Escalation toward the American Revolution
Date:
December 16, 1773
Organized by:
The Sons of Liberty
Main reason or objective:
A public protest against taxes imposed by the British
Ships involved:
3
Chests of tea destroyed:
342
Location:
Boston Harbor
Estimated value:
£9,659 (equivalent to $1.7 million today)
What Was the Boston Tea Party & Why Did It Happen?
The Boston Tea Party was a defining moment in American history. On December 16, 1773, the Sons of Liberty, a revolutionary group in Boston, Massachusetts, destroyed an entire shipment of tea from the British East India Company. This was done in protest of the Tea Act of May 10 of that year, which had enforced the unpopular Townshend Acts—a series of laws which allowed England to tax the Colonies without fair representation in Parliament. Protesters cast chests of tea into Boston Harbor, an act of defiance which led to the Revolutionary War.
Why Did the Boston Tea Party Happen?
American colonists drank approximately 1.2 million pounds of tea each year. Seeking to make a profit off this popular commodity, Britain imposed a number of restrictive laws and taxes to create a monopoly in favor of British tea, outraging Americans and undercutting colonial tea suppliers. Colonists not only protested the tax, but the injustice of being taxed without having representatives in the British parliament.
What Happened After the Boston Tea Party?
The Boston Tea Party immediately escalated tensions between Great Britain and the American colonists. Britain responded in 1774 by closing the port of Boston and revoking local self-government in Massachusetts, laws the Americans referred to as “the Intolerable Acts.” Colonists convened the First Continental Congress and petitioned King George to repeal the acts, a direct challenge to British authority.
Why Was the Boston Tea Party Important?
The Boston Tea Party was a dramatic act of civil disobedience that demonstrated to Great Britain the extent to which Americans were becoming increasingly united against Britain’s policies. The British response in Massachusetts made residents of the other twelve colonies fear the same punitive action could be taken against them, which led to an organized political movement that would eventually call for independence.
Could Your Ancestors Have Witnessed the Boston Tea Party?
The first step to finding out whether your ancestors might have participated in, witnessed the Boston Tea Party, or were affected by its aftermath is to determine whether they lived in Boston or New England during the Revolutionary era. American Ancestors has resources and databases that can help you figure this out.
Learn How to Research Revolutionary-Era Ancestors
American Ancestors experts have created a free guide that teaches you how to look for your Revolutionary-era ancestor. If you have an ancestor of the right age living during the Revolutionary War, note his colony of residence—and, if he survived the war, note which state he lived in after the war.
Search Colonial New England Record Collections
Search for your ancestors in American Ancestors’ historical records for colonial New England, which may help identify relatives who lived in Boston or New England during the years surrounding the Boston Tea Party. Our databases may help you uncover family names, locations, occupations, military service, and other details connected to Revolutionary-era communities.
Databases
Search for your ancestors in databases related to Boston and New England during the Revolutionary War.
Massachusetts Records
Hampden County, MA: Black Families in Hampden County, 1650-1865
Massachusetts: Divided Hearts, Massachusetts Loyalists, 1765-1790
Massachusetts: Grand Lodge of Masons Membership Cards, 1733-1990
Massachusetts: Legislators of the General Court, 1691-1780
Massachusetts: Miscellaneous Census Substitutes, 1630-1788, 1840, 1890
Massachusetts: Vital Records, 1620-1850
Society of Colonial Wars in Massachusetts Membership Applications, 1560-1970
New England Records
External Databases
The following databases are made available to our members through our partner organizations. You must have an American Ancestors membership to access. Learn More
Early American Newspapers, Series I, 1690-1876
Learn More About Researching Massachusetts
Knowing more about how to conduct research in Massachusetts can help you identify ancestors who might have lived there in the late 18th century.
Join the Boston Tea Party Descendants Program
Do you have ancestors who lived in Boston during the Revolution? You may be eligible to join a new society established in partnership with American Ancestors and the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum.
Explore More Boston Tea Party Research Resources
Webinars
Watch these free webinars to learn more about ways to discover ancestors who may have been participated in, or witnesses to the Boston Tea Party. Also, learn more about the lineage society honoring participants and witnesses of this historic event.
American Inspiration
Stacy Schiff with The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams
Join Pulitzer Prize-winning author Stacy Schiff for a revelatory look at her new work exploring the life and legacy of Samuel Adams.
Moderated by Ryan J. Woods
Online Event
Migrations: From New England To and Through New York
Learn about early patterns of migration from New England to New York and onward to points west, and how you can trace your ancestors who moved through the Northeast.
Online Event
Reading the Gravestones of Early New England
Learn from epitaph expert John Hanson about how to interpret early New England gravestones and what they can tell us about our ancestors' lives.
American Inspiration
Julie Flavell with The Howe Dynasty: The Untold Story of a Military Family and the Women Behind Britain's Wars for America
Alongside its legendary military men, the women of the Howe family wielded unprecedented – and, until now, unexamined – influence on the British side of the American Revolution.
Research Tools & Tips
Basics of New England Research
Whether your ancestors lived in New England in the 17th century or the 21st century, this presentation will give you the basic information to begin—and advance—your research into New England records.
Research Guide
Out to Sea: Researching Mariner Ancestors in New England
For many living in New England during the 17th through 19th centuries, their livelihood and even survival was inextricably linked to the sea.
Online Event
Come Join the Revolution: Applying to the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution
Becoming a member of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR) is a wonderful way to honor and pay tribute to your ancestors who provided service during the American Revolutionary War (1775 – 1783).
Research Tools & Tips
Boston Research and Records
Since its founding in 1630, the City of Boston has kept records pertaining to its citizens, including several unique resources.
Research Tools & Tips
Using New England Probate Records
In this webinar Chief Genealogist David Allen Lambert discusses how to get the most out of probate records with special emphasis on those resources available at the American Ancestors library and archives and online at AmericanAncestors.org.
Research Tools & Tips
Early Military Resources at NEHGS: Colonial Wars to War of 1812
Learn how to locate your ancestors who served during the Colonial Wars, the American Revolution, or the War of 1812.
Research Tools & Tips
New England Vital Records at NEHGS
Most New England towns began recording births, marriages, and deaths soon after settlement. Discover the New England vital record databases on AmericanAncestors.org and gain basic search tips.
Guides, Articles, and More
Explore research guides, archival materials, and articles that can help you learn more about the Boston Tea Party and investigate potential family connections to Revolutionary-era New England.
Feature Article
Images of the Revolutionary War Generation
by Maureen A. Taylor
American Ancestors Magazine, Summer 2010
Feature Article
Strategies for Tracing Revolutionary War Veterans
by David Allen Lambert
American Ancestors Magazine, Summer 2010
Feature Article
Revolutionary War-Related Research Problems? These Articles May Help
by Henry B. Hoff
American Ancestors Magazine, Summer 2010
From the Archives
The following items from our collection can be viewed online in digital format.
Browse all items related to the Boston Tea Party
Hawkes, James. A retrospect of the Boston tea-party : with a memoir of George R. T. Hewes, a survivor of the little band of patriots who
drowned the tea in Boston harbour in 1773 / By a citizen of New-York... New-York S. S. Bliss, printer, 1834. https://library.nehgs.org/record=b1074743
Tea leaves: being a collection of letters and documents relating to the shipment of tea to the American colonies in the year 1773, by the East
India Tea Company. Now first printed from the original manuscript. With an introduction, notes, and biographical notices of the Boston
Tea Party, by Francis S. Drake. Boston, A.O. Crane, 1884. https://library.nehgs.org/record=b1083964
Wall, Caleb A. The historic Boston Tea Party of December 16, 1773 : Its men and objects: incidents leading to, accompanying, and following
the throwing overboard of the tea. Including a short account of the Boston Massacre of March 5, 1770. With patriotic lessons therefrom
adapted to the present time. Worcester, Mass.: Press of F.S. Blanchard, 1896. https://library.nehgs.org/record=b1074718
Thatcher, B. B. Traits of the tea party : being a memoir of George R.T. Hewes, one of the last of its survivors : with a history of that transaction,
reminiscences of the massacre, and the siege, and other stories of old times / by a Bostonian. New York : Harper & Brothers, 1835. https://library.nehgs.org/record=b1074742