America's Tea Parties by Marissa Moss
Author:Marissa Moss
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Abrams
Published: 2016-12-01T16:00:00+00:00
Broadside, tea ship sighting, Sandy Hook, 1774.
Once the ship was moored in Sandy Hook, a regular stop for shipping traffic coming to New York, local pilots refused to escort the Nancy or her captain, Benjamin Lockyer, into New York Harbor. The crew members were all stuck there. And to make it clear they’d stay, a committee of the Sons of Liberty boarded the Nancy. They had to prevent the crew from leaving so there would be the full complement of sailors needed to sail the ship home right away. So the colonists chained and locked up the small boats on board. That way nobody could get to shore, though some desperate sailors built a small raft and tried to float away, only to be stopped by the alert Sons of Liberty. The colonists warned Captain Lockyer that “for the safety of your cargo, your vessel, and your persons, it will be most prudent for you to return” to England. They escorted him into the city to get supplies needed for the trip back. He was also taken to see the tea agent Henry White, who refused the tea but was not permitted to go to the Custom House in case he felt the urge to pay some tax. And where did they put up this fine captain while waiting for him to reprovision? In the Coffee House on Wall Street. (Again, coffee, not tea. The symbolism was probably clear to the captain.)
Meanwhile, the other tea ship from Charleston, the London, now under the command of Captain Chambers, arrived on April 22, 1774. The New York Sons of Liberty had heard from the Charleston Sons of Liberty that there were eighteen chests of tea hidden on board. The captain insisted there weren’t, and he showed the London’s cargo list as proof; however, a quick search revealed his lie—and the tea. Fumbling for an excuse, the captain claimed the tea as his personal property and hence not part of the ship’s cargo. The committee, shipowners, and captain all went to Fraunces Tavern to discuss what to do with both the tea and the ship. The townsfolk, however, wanted a quicker resolution, and a group of men boarded the ship that evening, found the cases, broke them open, and threw the tea into the river. They were careful not to touch the rest of the cargo. The splintered chests were used to stoke bonfires in the streets while the men celebrated their victory over greed and unjust taxation.
Download
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.
