TEA IN THE HARBOR At 9:00 a.m. on November 29 1773 bells clanged from every church steeple in Boston a city in the British colony of Massachusetts People came out of their homes Signs hanging on fences called them to a meeting Nearly 5 000 people gathered at the Old South Meeting House There they discussed the arrival of the Dartmouth This ship carried British tea The Bostonians were angered by the ship's arrival They were determined not to let the tea land or be brought ashore If it landed they would have to pay a duty or tax The tax would cost three pennies per pound The Old South Meeting House still stands in Boston
of tea The tax was small but the colonists felt it was unfair It had been passed by the British Parliament But the colonists did not have a say in Parliament The tea tax was the latest in a long string of what the colonists considered unfair British laws Samuel Adams a local politician had arranged the morning's meeting He demanded that the tea be sent back to London He said the colonists should not pay the taxes But the ship couldn't return to London It didn't have a permit from the royal governor Thomas Hutchinson And Hutchinson wouldn't issue a permit unless the tax was paid For more than two weeks the people of Boston met almost daily They had to figure out what to do with the tea It had to be either sent back or landed within 20 days Otherwise customs officials would seize the ship Then the tea would be sold at auction and Samuel Adams was influential in planning the Boston Tea Party
