The owner of two of the three ships was William Rotch, a Nantucket-born colonist and merchant. "the British Parliament decreed that any American vessel selling

The owner of two of the three ships was William Rotch, a Nantucket-born colonist and merchant. "the British Parliament decreed that any American vessel selling goods in London had to purchase tea as part of its return freight to the colonies. Thus, the captains of the Rotch-owned Dartmouth and Beaver dutifully loaded consignments of tea for their journeys back to Boston." The Rotches absorbed the loss of 2/3 of the £10,000 cargo, however due to their position in the whale oil monopoly, they were unpopular in the colonies and received little sympathy. The war destroyed much of their business and wealth, and they weren't welcome back home in Nantucket, where the community felt they were abandoned. The colonies were Crown businesses. A clearer reason for the war was the Royal Proclamation of 1763. It reserved land west of the Appalachians for native peoples. https://nha.org/research/nantucket-history/history-topics/rotch-family/ https://nha.org/research/nantucket-history/history-topics/ro...