Essay On The Boston Tea Party By John Andrews

This primary source account was a letter written by John Andrews to a relative. He was simply trying to get the word out about the Boston Tea Party by sharing his experiences with his family. The Boston Tea Party was a protest because of the tax on the tea. British Parliament had just annulled most of the import taxes enforced on the colonies, but decided to leave the tax on imported tea to prove its authority. In November of 1773, three ships arrived in the Boston harbor with 342 chests of tea. The citizens rebuffed to unload the tea because they were not pleased by the tax left on the tea. The ships were forced to stay in the harbor by Governor Thomas Hutchinson. Neither the colonist nor the British Parliament were amused, which would eventually

He writes about November 29th, he mentions the captains of the ships Hall and Bruce. He describes his fear about what will happen if the buyer refuse to purchase it and unload the tea. There is commotion in the council about the tea. Another boat comes into shore and there are flyer put up over town calling up “Friends! Citizens! and Countrymen!” He also writes about December 1st, he returns from fire club and meets with Miss Masons and Mr. Williams. They discuss the controversy over the tea and converse about the multiple meetings being held over the tea. They mention that all the pistols are sold out of town because people are preparing to “repel force with force.” On December 18th, Andrews talks about the actual Boston Tea Party. He talks about how impossible it must seem for ten thousand pounds of tea could vanish in one night. He mentions the emotion and ruckus in the meeting where they decided to dump the tea into the harbor. According to Andrews “before nine o’ clock in the evening, every chest from on board the three vessels was knocked to pieces and flung over the sides. They say the actors were Indians were from Narragnasett.” Andrews describe the demeanor and the dialect of men, which made the ship crew perceive them as Native Americans. Captain Conner, who was smuggling tea in the lining of his coat was caught and punished by being stripped, covered in mud and beaten. John Andrews is proud of his letter and is glad he is sharing the news with his