Boston Tea Party

Boston Tea Party

The Boston Tea Party was a political protest and mercantile protest by the Sons of Liberty in Boston, Massachusetts, on December 16, 1773. In defiance of the Tea Act of May 10, 1773, which allowed the British East India company to sell tea from China in American colonies without paying any taxes, thus undercutting local tea merchants, the demonstrators, some disguised as Native Americans, destroyed an entire shipment of tea sent by the East India Company.

They boarded the ships and threw the chests of tea into Boston Harbor. The British government responded harshly and the episode escalated into the American Revolution. The Tea Party became an iconic event of American history. Wikipedia 

Learn more about the Boston Tea Party through historical newspapers from our archives. Explore newspaper articles, headlines, images, and other primary sources below.

Articles and Clippings about the Boston Tea Party

British newspaper describes barriers to arranging tea shipments to New York and Boston 16 Oct 1773, Sat Jackson's Oxford Journal (Oxford, Oxfordshire, England) Newspapers.comOne negative American reaction to the Tea Act 06 Dec 1773, Mon Dunlap and Claypoole's American Daily Advertiser (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) Newspapers.comReprinted handbill opposing the Tea Act 13 Dec 1773, Mon Dunlap and Claypoole's American Daily Advertiser (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) Newspapers.comBostonians hold meetings to decide what to do about the British tea in the harbor 13 Dec 1773, Mon Dunlap and Claypoole's American Daily Advertiser (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) Newspapers.comAccount of the Boston Tea Party 22 Dec 1773, Wed The Pennsylvania Gazette (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) Newspapers.comNewspaper prints letter describing the Boston Tea Party 06 Jan 1774, Thu The Virginia Gazette (Williamsburg, Virginia) Newspapers.comOpinion: Anyone involved with tea from the East India Company "is an enemy to America" 11 Jan 1774, Tue The Leeds Intelligencer and Yorkshire General Advertiser (Leeds, West Yorkshire, England) Newspapers.comVirginia newspaper publishes song celebrating the Boston Tea Party 20 Jan 1774, Thu The Virginia Gazette (Williamsburg, Virginia) Newspapers.comAccount of the events leading up to the Boston Tea Party 21 Jan 1774, Fri The Derby Mercury (Derby, Derbyshire, England) Newspapers.comBostonians resolve to disrupt the importation of tea from Britain 21 Jan 1774, Fri The Derby Mercury (Derby, Derbyshire, England) Newspapers.comBoston Tea Party highlights whether Britain has the right to tax its American colonies 29 Jan 1774, Sat Jackson's Oxford Journal (Oxford, Oxfordshire, England) Newspapers.comLetter from British officer says "all America is in flame" over Tea Act 08 Feb 1774, Tue The Leeds Intelligencer and Yorkshire General Advertiser (Leeds, West Yorkshire, England) Newspapers.comReport that inhabitants of Charles-Town burned "all their tea" in the public market square 17 Feb 1774, Thu Bath Weekly Chronicle and Herald (Bath, Avon, England) Newspapers.comBritain will send war ships to America & "insist upon our Right to Taxation" 11 Mar 1774, Fri The Derby Mercury (Derby, Derbyshire, England) Newspapers.comTown of Marshfield, Massachusetts, condemns Boston Tea Party & pledges loyalty to King George III 11 Mar 1774, Fri The Derby Mercury (Derby, Derbyshire, England) Newspapers.comBritish account of tea controversy in America 19 Mar 1774, Sat Jackson's Oxford Journal (Oxford, Oxfordshire, England) Newspapers.comBritish Boston Port Bill proposes no goods should be shipped to Boston until certain criteria is met 24 Mar 1774, Thu The Bath Chronicle (Bath, Avon, England) Newspapers.comBritish newspaper prints two opposing opinions on the Boston Port Bill and its potential effects 01 Apr 1774, Fri The Derby Mercury (Derby, Derbyshire, England) Newspapers.comAmerican group submits a petition to British parliament regarding the Boston Port Act 02 Apr 1774, Sat The Ipswich Journal (Ipswich, Suffolk, England) Newspapers.comMonetary value of tea destroyed at Boston 01 Jul 1774, Fri The Derby Mercury (Derby, Derbyshire, England) Newspapers.comMeeting in New York condemns Boston Port Act as "oppressive," "unconstitutional," and "dangerous" 17 Aug 1774, Wed The Caledonian Mercury (Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland) Newspapers.comKing assents to a bill repealing an act that "imposed a duty on tea imported from Great Britain" 14 Mar 1778, Sat Cambridge Chronicle and Journal, etc. (Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England) Newspapers.comJohn Wyeth's account of his experiences during the Boston Tea Party 15 Apr 1837, Sat Maumee City Express (Maumee City, Ohio) Newspapers.comLast known surviving participant in Boston Tea Party dies in 1846 12 Mar 1846, Thu The Vermont Union Whig (Rutland, Vermont) Newspapers.comBoston Tea Party Ship & Museum opens and includes replica of British ship Beaver II 29 Jun 1974, Sat Sun-Journal (Lewiston, Maine) Newspapers.com