His Majesty's Tea is Served!

The Front-Page Lede:

Three ships of the East India Company were attacked in Boston Harbor last night by "The Sons of Liberty." About 100 men boarded and dumped cartons of tea into the harbor, protesting His Majesty's Tea Tax. What could be the motive for such villainy?

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The Story:

In the Year of Our Lord 1773, on 16 December, a vicious attack was fomented upon three ships of the East India Company at Griffin's Wharf in Boston Harbor by American colonists, who called themselves, "The Sons of Liberty." These "gentlemen" claimed this incident was a response to both the Townshend Revenue Act and the Tea Act, believing there should be no "taxation without representation" in Parliament. The estimates indicate, that 100 men (more or less) boarded the Dartmouth, Eleanor and the Beaver, and over a period of about three hours, they dumped 342 chests of tea into the harbor.

"Feeling rather taxed," were they? Allegedly with emotions that have been coming to a boil over these past two years through the incitement of His Majesty's selection of legislation, this peevish group of American colonists decided to serve His Majesty's tea in a rather large teacup, known as the Boston Harbor. The attacks took place last evening. Though no lives were reported to be lost in the skirmish, the lading of tea, owned by the East India Company was shamefully dumped into the harbor without payment and certainly without any propriety.

Samuel Adams, the notorious leader of the Whig Party, gave an impassioned speech at the Old South Meeting Hall on 29 November of 1773, since Faneuil Hall was too small for the thousands of people, who had arrived.

Last night's meeting on 16 December, 1773 was the second meeting in less than a month to discuss concerns over the alleged violations of the British Constitution in the form of the tax on tea, which was being sold to the colonists. Citing the 1767 Townshend Revenue Act and the Tea Act, just passed in May of this year, the ruffians took it upon themselves to dispense with The East India Company's tea by summarily tossing all the crates of tea off the ships and into the harbor. In so doing they ruined the tea and deprived His Majesty's chosen tea company of necessary revenue, which tax was intended to restore much-needed crowns to the Crown after the woefully expensive French and Indian Wars.

On 29 November of 1773 as has been stated, previously, Samuel Adams had colluded with his fellow "Sons of Liberty" to petition Governor Hutchinson to have the Dartmouth to return to England without unlading its precious cargo. He refused and last night's riot was on the last day of the grace period of the Governor's dictum. The colonists, who were willing to speak with me, expressed they had "no other recourse for gaining the attention of the Crown."

The destruction of the tea in Boston Harbor will most certainly gain a swift and unequivocal audience with His Majesty as well as with the owners of the East India Company.

It is agreed, that the tea had been taxed by an act of the British Parliament. This is common practice in Great Britain and in all of His Majesty's land holdings throughout the world. However, the lack of input by the America colonists seems to be the strong "bone of contention." "Taxation without representation" has been said to be intolerable to the colonists, who allegedly felt they were "losing their freedoms of commerce and of self-determination."

It is true the colonists have been smuggling tea from Holland, making it much cheaper to buy and to use for themselves. This was unacceptable to The Crown. Forthwith, Parliament with the approval of His Majesty took a hard line, dictating, that the American colonies would always be required to purchase tea from England and only from England. "How could the Government of Great Britain continue to operate without revenue?" is the question of all back home. Such revenue must come from some source.

The colonists have cited the King's alleged lack of compassion and greed as the cause for them to reconsider tea as the drink of choice in the states.

One wonders, "What else is there to drink? Will they drink that dirty, little black bean, known as coffee?"

It would be purely speculation to guess the end-result of last night's fiasco, but it had all the earmarks of a full-fledged "temper tantrum."

By Jay O'Toole, reporter for the Crown Gazette of Savannah, Georgia, on assignment