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> The Boston tea party was about lowering the tax on tea, not raising it, which impacted the black market these guys were selling in. Wait, really? I've always

by mcv 4y ago

> The Boston tea party was about lowering the tax on tea, not raising it, which impacted the black market these guys were selling in. Wait, really? I've always understood they were protesting increased tariffs cutting into legitimate trade profits.

adastra22 4y ago
The Tea Act raised taxes overall from a British perspective, but due to the way it was structured it actually lowered taxes paid by the colonies in trade with the rest of the empire. “The act retained the duty on imported tea at its existing rate, but, since the company was no longer required to pay an additional tax in England, the Tea Act effectively lowered the price of the East India Company’s tea in the colonies.” https://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/tea-act https://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/tea-act The people who instigated the Boston Tea Party were known smugglers. Their real motives obviously were not written down, but they were smart men and had to have known this affected their bottom line. In any case the propaganda that the Tea Act would impose new (meaning higher) taxes on tea paid by colonists was straight up false.
- mcv 4y ago
  So the whole revolution was based on a lie! Interestingly, lots of revolutions are, and don't always lead to what most supporters intended. I once heard that the Belgian independence from Netherland in the 1830s was driven largely by French influence, while many Flemish just wanted a more liberal government and better representation, and not actual independence.
  - adastra22 4y ago
    Not really related to the Tea Act per se, but the revolutionary war was NOT a revolution at first. It was, from the very beginning, more of what you would classify as a rebellious act. An attempt to renegotiate the terms of colonial rule with mother England. Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" changed all that. It's only after that pamphlet was published that you see the other founding fathers taking anti-monarchy stances and advocating for total independence. The Declaration of Independence was, at best, edited by Thomas Jefferson, but almost certainly written by Thomas Paine in my mind. It's funny because Thomas Paine was an englishman who'd only just recently arrived in the colonies.

by mcv 4y ago

adastra22 4y ago

The Tea Act raised taxes overall from a British perspective, but due to the way it was structured it actually lowered taxes paid by the colonies in trade with the rest of the empire. “The act retained the duty on imported tea at its existing rate, but, since the company was no longer required to pay an additional tax in England, the Tea Act effectively lowered the price of the East India Company’s tea in the colonies.” https://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/tea-act https://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/tea-act The people who instigated the Boston Tea Party were known smugglers. Their real motives obviously were not written down, but they were smart men and had to have known this affected their bottom line. In any case the propaganda that the Tea Act would impose new (meaning higher) taxes on tea paid by colonists was straight up false.

mcv 4y ago
So the whole revolution was based on a lie! Interestingly, lots of revolutions are, and don't always lead to what most supporters intended. I once heard that the Belgian independence from Netherland in the 1830s was driven largely by French influence, while many Flemish just wanted a more liberal government and better representation, and not actual independence.
- adastra22 4y ago
  Not really related to the Tea Act per se, but the revolutionary war was NOT a revolution at first. It was, from the very beginning, more of what you would classify as a rebellious act. An attempt to renegotiate the terms of colonial rule with mother England. Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" changed all that. It's only after that pamphlet was published that you see the other founding fathers taking anti-monarchy stances and advocating for total independence. The Declaration of Independence was, at best, edited by Thomas Jefferson, but almost certainly written by Thomas Paine in my mind. It's funny because Thomas Paine was an englishman who'd only just recently arrived in the colonies.