CONTENT WARNING
Materials in the Library of Virginia’s collections contain historical terms, phrases, and images that are offensive to modern readers. These include demeaning and dehumanizing references to race, ethnicity, and nationality; enslaved or free status; physical and mental ability; and gender and sexual orientation.
Context
In May 1773 the British Parliament passed the Tea Act granting the British East India Company a monopoly on importing tea. Intended in part to discourage colonists from buying smuggled tea on which they paid no taxes, the act implicitly acknowledged Parliament's right to tax the colonies. Although the Tea Act actually reduced the tax American colonists had to pay on tea, many were angered that Britain was imposing taxes without colonial representation. In December 1773, a group of men disguised as Mohawk Indians boarded ships in Boston Harbor and destroyed 342 chests of Company tea.
While not as well-known as the Boston Tea Party, another tea party protest took place in Yorktown, Virginia. On November 7, 1774, local residents boarded the British ship Virginia and dumped two half-chests of tea into the York River. The tea had been imported despite the boycott on English goods that the first Virginia Revolutionary Convention had authorized in August 1774. The boycott was an effort to pressure the British Parliament to repeal tax laws and regulations that some Virginia leaders believed were unconstitutional.
The goal of this smaller tea party event in the York River was to send a message of support to Revolutionary cause and to demonstrate that the importation of tea during the boycott would not be tolerated. The merchant who had imported the tea wrote an apology in the newspaper and asked the public for forgiveness. The ship captain was also punished for his participation in bringing the tea into port in violation of the boycott. He was ordered to return to England with an empty ship.
Citation: Yorktown Tea Party, November 7, 1774. Notices pertaining to the Yorktown Tea Party, November 24, 1774, Purdie and Dixon, Virginia Gazette, page 2, Special Collections, Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.
Standards
Suggested Questions
Preview Activity
Scan It: Scan the transcribed version of the article and identify 3 or 4 phrases to describe the event that took place on November 7, 1774.
Post Activities
Analyze: The American colonists used events like the Yorktown Tea Party to rally people to support the revolution. Was it effective? Why or why not?
Food for Thought: Why would American colonists want to participate in this type of protest? What were the potential risks for supporting these types of events?
Another Perspective: Imagine you are a merchant during the Revolution; what are some incentives to obey the non-importation agreement? What are some incentives to disobey the agreement?