Living Abroad - The Boston

Living Abroad

THE BOSTON TEA PARTY

These days Americans speak with an American accent, play baseball and drink coffee. But things could have been so different: they could be speaking with British accents, playing cricket and drinking tea. However, luckily (or unluckily, depending on where you come from) something important happened in 1773 that changed the course of American history forever: the “Boston Tea Party”. A Tea Party It all took place one cold, dark night in November 1773. A group of one hundred and fifty men disguised as Mohawk Indians and led by Samuel Adams* made their way to Boston harbour, where there were three British ships. Quickly, the group divided into three lots of 50 men. Each group chose a ship and climbed aboard. They forced the English captains and the crew below deck, and then started to destroy the cargo, which consisted of boxes of tea. They broke open the boxes, pulled out the contents and threw all the tea into the water. What fun! This act of protest achieved two important things: firstly, it made the world’s largest cup of iced tea in the harbour; secondly it started the American War of Independence. What did these men have against this tea? And how did this provoke a war? A cup of tea, sir? At that time Britain had been at war with the French. The British and French were fighting over the control of North America (mostly in what is now known as Canada). It was a vicious war and both sides lost lots of men. You might like to see the film “Last Of The Mohicans” (Daniel Day Lewis) to get an idea about what it was all about. In the end the British won, but it left them bankrupt.

What were they going to do?

The answer was simple. They passed a law known as the Tea Act of 1773. This law said that a company called the British East India Company could sell tea in the American colonies (the 13 states), and that the company did not have to pay any taxes. With this privilege, the company soon gained a monopoly on the tea trade. Now the company could sell cheap tea to the Americans. The British were happy, but the Americans weren’t.

Angry Americans

Good old British democracy

At the time of the Tea Party, America wasn’t America. Let me explain. “America” just consisted of thirteen states: New York, Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Delaware, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia - otherwise known as British colonies. Each colony was separately established and they each had a separate relationship with the British Empire - the age-old British tradition of divide and rule**. None of the colonies had the power to pass laws on tax. This didn’t pose any problems at first, but then things changed.

For many American companies this new law meant disaster; and many of them went out of business as a result. But what really made the Americans angry was the arrogance of the British. In effect, the British were passing laws without any consultation, especially concerning tea, which was a very popular drink at the time.

The colonists didn’t take long to react. They started organising meetings and protests and refused to drink tea. This protest helped to unify the colonies and all of them joined the protest. Colonial women were particularly important as they were the principal consumers of tea. Many of them became the leaders of the boycott.

No Tea

Those who opposed the British became known as Patriots, and they yelled things such as, “no taxation without representation”, and “the power to tax is the power to destroy”. They also tried to prevent ships with tea from entering the ports. As a result, many British ships had to return to England. However, in November 1773, three of them did manage to get through. They were full of tea, waiting to be unloaded and sold to the Bostonians. And these were the three ships that the Bostonians attacked in what became known as the “Boston Tea Party”.

Angry Brits

When the British heard about the Tea Party they were furious. They demanded compensation for all the lost tea, and the British king (King George III) decided to punish the state (colony) of Massachusetts (whose capital is Boston). He passed a law in 1774 known as the Coercive Acts, which closed the port of Boston and reduced the powers of the Boston Congress. He also sent more soldiers to intimidate the Bostonians. The plan was to starve Boston into submission. But it didn’t work.

War

In fact, the measures served to make the Americans even angrier. Other colonies sent food to Boston, and together, a militia was created. They also formed the first Continental Congress, which was a kind of illegal parliament where they talked about how much they hated the British. Things got gradually worse, the British sent more troops and before long there was a war: the American War of Independence. In the end the Americans won, as you already know, and they became independent from Britain, which explains why they speak with American accents (and not posh British ones), why they play baseball and why they don’t drink tea anymore, except the iced version. God Bless America!

GLOSSA RY FOR CA RTOON

a chap n a man one exp this word can be used instead of “you” as a way of talking generally. It is very formal and old-fashioned the hell exp inform this expression is used to show surprise, anger, etc a limey n inform an informal way of referring disrespectfully to an English person to yap on about something exp to talk endlessly about something to strike vb to hit to powder vb to put “powder” (a fine, white dust) on something a wig n a piece of false hair tights n clothing that is worn over your legs. Women wear them these days pantaloons n clothing that covered the top half of your legs. They were worn by men in the 18th century a jerk n inform an idiot. This word is often used to insult another person crap exp inform this word is used to refer negatively to things in general to kneel before someone exp literally, to go down on your knees (the joint in the middle of your leg) as a way of showing respect to someone stuck-up adj someone who is “stuck-up” acts in an arrogant and superior way

Samuel Adams

Samuel Adams, 1722 to 1803, was the son of a businessman (a brewer: someone who makes beer). He went to Harvard University, and became active in colonial politics. He led many protests against the British control of the colonies. He founded the Sons of Liberty, a secret organization dedicated to the resistance of British laws. He also organized the Boston Tea Party. These days his name survives because one of the best beers in the world is named after him.

Divide & Rule

This is the policy of dividing the different peoples in a nation in order to dominate that nation. The British were experts at this, and did it effectively in India (with the Hindus and Muslims), in South Africa (with the Zulus and the Afrikaners), and in Iraq (with the Kurds, Sunnis and Shiites). In America, the British did it by treating each colony separately instead of allowing them to join together, which would have made them too powerful.

G L O S S A R Y

disguised adj with clothes that make you look different to who you really are lots of exp groups of to climb aboard exp to go on a ship below deck exp the “deck” of a ship is the area outside with a floor where you can walk. “Below” deck is the area under the “deck” a cargo n goods that are sent by ship iced tea n Americans drink iced-tea, which is cold tea served with ice tax n money you pay the government to finance services such as education, policing, etc bankrupt adj if a business is “bankrupt”, it has no money to gain a monopoly exp to be in a position of dominance in a particular market the tea trade n the import and export of the drink tea to go out of business exp to stop functioning as a business to refuse vb to say that you are not going to do something a boycott n an organised protest against a country or organisation. During the boycott, people don’t buy services or produce from that country or organisation to yell vb to shout to get through phr vb to enter to starve a place into submission exp to force a town to stop resisting by stopping all supplies of food from entering