1773. American Revolution – Foundations.

Peter Timothy announced in the South Carolina Gazette that “300 chests of tea were on their way to Charles Town.” He urged the citizens to “band together to take the necessary steps to prevent the landing” of the cargo.

Earlier in the year, Parliament had passed the Tea Act, which allowed the East India Company to export tax-free tea into the American colonies in an effort to help the company recover from near bankruptcy. It was also an attempt to undercut the price of illegal tea smuggled into the North American colonies. The Act was supposed to convince the colonists to purchase Company tea on which the Townshend duties were paid, thus implicitly agreeing to accept Parliament’s right of taxation. Most of the American colonies disagreed.