In the eighteenth century, tea was a consumer item central to the British economy and the trading rights of the East India Company were protected by the government. America, as a colony of the British empire, was expected to be both a producer of raw goods and a consumer market. The Boston Tea Party is a well-known event of consumer activism which is directly tied to military control.
Primary Source Links
- Primary Source Link Two: The Tea Act of 1773
- Primary Source Link Three: “The Bostonians Paying the Excise Man”
Video Link
“What was the Tea Act of 1773?"
Primary Source Questions for Students:
- How does British protection of the East India Tea Company compare to current affairs (Silicon Valley Bank)?
- As a merchant in colonial America, how might the tea act affect your business?
- How is the posting of laws in public places different to the ways Americans learn about laws today?
- What elements of trade are visible in the illustration “The Bostonians Paying the Excise Man”?
- What roles are different individuals are playing in “The Bostonians Paying the Excise Man”?
- What is an “Excise Man”?
- What is posted on the tree?
- How and why was the illustration “The Bostonians Paying the Excise Man” received
in America and in Britain?
