What was the purpose of the tea tax?

What was the purpose of the tea tax?

The act’s main purpose was not to raise revenue from the colonies but to bail out the floundering East India Company, a key actor in the British economy. The British government granted the company a monopoly on the importation and sale of tea in the colonies.

Why did the colonists hate the Tea Act?

Many colonists opposed the Act, not so much because it rescued the East India Company, but more because it seemed to validate the Townshend Tax on tea. These interests combined forces, citing the taxes and the Company’s monopoly status as reasons to oppose the Act.

Why did Parliament pass a new tax on the colonies?

In an effort to raise funds to pay off debts and defend the vast new American territories won from the French in the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763), the British government passes the Stamp Act on March 22, 1765.

Why did Parliament create the Townshend Acts?

The Townshend Acts, passed in 1767 and 1768, were designed to raise revenue for the British Empire by taxing its North American colonies. They were met with widespread protest in the colonies, especially among merchants in Boston.

What was the tax on tea in 1773?

The act granted the EIC a monopoly on the sale of tea that was cheaper than smuggled tea; its hidden purpose was to force the colonists to pay a tax of 3 pennies on every pound of tea. The Tea Act thus retained the three pence Townshend duty on tea imported to the colonies.

Why did the British tax the colonists on tea?

The tax on tea had existed since the passing of the 1767 Townshend Revenue Act. The tea tax was kept in order to maintain Parliament’s right to tax the colonies. The Tea Act was not intended to anger American colonists, instead it was meant to be a bailout policy to get the British East India Company out of debt.

Why did the British government decide to tax the colonies?

Britain also needed money to pay for its war debts. The King and Parliament believed they had the right to tax the colonies. They decided to require several kinds of taxes from the colonists to help pay for the French and Indian War. They protested, saying that these taxes violated their rights as British citizens.

How did Parliament respond to the protests against the Tea Act?

How did Parliament respond to the protests against the Tea Act? It raised the tea tax. seek approval for town meetings. More than 5,000 colonists met to decide what to do about the shipment of tea.

How did Parliament react to the protest?

After months of protest, and an appeal by Benjamin Franklin before the British House of Commons, Parliament voted to repeal the Stamp Act in March 1766. However, the same day, Parliament passed the Declaratory Acts, asserting that the British government had free and total legislative power over the colonies.

Why did the British pass the Tea Act?

British parliament passes unpopular Tea Act. On this day in 1773, the British Parliament passes the Tea Act, a bill designed to save the faltering East India Company from bankruptcy by greatly lowering the tea tax it paid to the British government and, thus, granting it a de facto monopoly on the American tea trade.

Why did the colonists revolt against the tax on tea?

The colonists rebelled on principle–they did not like paying for the tea whether or not it was consumed. They also did not appreciate that this tax was passed without their consent and that Members of Parliament directly benefited from the monopoly.

Who was the leader of the Boston Tea Party?

Parliament passes the Tea Act. After Massachusetts Governor Thomas Hutchinson refused to send back the cargo, Patriot leader Samuel Adams organized the so-called Boston Tea Party with about 60 members of the radically anti-British Sons of Liberty. On December 16, 1773, the Patriots boarded the British ships disguised as Mohawk Indians and dumped…

When did the Patriots dump the tea into the water?

On December 16, 1773, the Patriots boarded the British ships disguised as Mohawk Indians and dumped the tea chests, valued then at £18,000 (nearly $1 million in today’s money), into the water.