Boston Tea Party turns 250 years old with reenactments of revolutionary protest
BOSTON (AP) — Patriotic mobs and harbor tea-dumping returned to Boston on Saturday as the city marked the 250th anniversary of the revolutionary protest that preceded America’s independence.
The commemoration of the Boston Tea Party included scheduled reenactments of the throwing of tea leaves into the city’s harbor and community meetings that preceded the defiant act on Dec. 16, 1773 — though this time, the symbolic protest was aided by spotlights and microphones. City officials were expecting thousands of visitors for the celebration.
The states that are — and aren’t — raising their minimum wages in 2024
Crowds who gathered to watch the reenactment quickly joined in, shouting “Huzzah!” along with the costumed actors as boxes of tea, nearly 2,000 pounds, were dumped in the harbor. Later, they resoundingly booed an actor who read King George III’s order closing the bay, and they cheered as narrators detailed the drafting of the Declaration of Independence.
“This is what we love, we love our history, we love the whole story of how the revolution began,” a visitor said.
Tea for the reenactment was supplied by the East India Co., the same British company that was at the center of the raucous dispute.
During the historic event, Bostonians who were fed up with British rule protested the “taxation without representation,” and dumped their valuable haul — some 340 chests, around 92,000 pounds (41,700 kilograms) of tea worth nearly $2 million today — into the murky waters of Boston Harbor.
Great Britain responded with military rule and other sanctions on Massachusetts, stoking American opposition to colonial rule.
FILE-In this Monday, Dec. 11, 2017 photo, visitors to the Boston Tea Party Museum throw replicas of historic tea containers into Boston Harbor from aboard a replica of the vessel Beaver, in Boston. Patriotic mobs and harbor tea dumping are returning to Boston on Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023, as the city marks the 250th anniversary of the revolutionary protest that preceded America’s independence. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, files) A letter from John Hancock dated April 18, 1776, is seen in this photo provided by The Raab Collection. Hancock, a signer of the Declaration of Independence who helped stoke outrage at the British, is being remembered as the United States commemorates the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party. (Photo by The Raab Collection via AP) FILE-The Boston Tea Party of 1773, is depicted in an undated engraving. Bostonians dressed as Indians dumped 342 chests of tea overboard from three British ships in protest against “taxation without representation.” Patriotic mobs and harbor tea dumping are returning to Boston on Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023 as the city marks the 250th anniversary of the revolutionary protest that preceded America’s independence. (AP Photo)
The Boston Tea Party is considered a pivotal event leading the American Revolutionary War.
“It’s a reminder for all of us, not just here in the United States but all over the world, that democracy is in action: Doing what’s right, no matter the odds, for our friends, our families, our homes, our future,” Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said at a news conference Friday previewing the anniversary.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA.
