Chapter 4

What Really Happened . . .

The Tea Sellers’ Choices

Most colonists agreed with the local Patriot groups. They promised not to buy tea from England. They saw the monopoly on tea as an attack on their liberty. They felt it had to stop.

Image Credit: Library of Congress

An angry mob throws stones at a tea merchant.

Image Credit: Library of Congress

This political cartoon shows some colonists preparing to pour tea down a tax collector’s throat. The colonists have covered him in hot tar and feathers.

The Patriots hoped to keep all tea from England out of the colonies. They wanted to turn back any English ships carrying it. But to do this, they would have to deal with the colonies’ tea merchants.

These men worked for the British East India Tea Company. They made a good living selling tea in the colonies. Although these merchants lived in the colonies, they were fiercely loyal to England. The Patriots had to find a way to make the merchants step aside. They did not want the tea merchants to try to unload the tea from the English ships.

What Would YOU Do?

What if you were a tea merchant in the colonies?

• Would you go along with the Patriots? Maybe you could try to find another job. You might not be safe if you did not stop selling tea. An angry mob of colonists could attack you or your family or destroy your store. Or . . .
• Would you stand up to the Patriots? Would you bravely refuse to leave your job? Maybe you and other tea merchants could secretly unload the tea from the incoming English ships. Once the tea was on the shore, the tax had to be paid to England. That was the law.