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 Parliament push for the tax?

(Gilder Lehrman Collection) On March 22, 1765, the British Parliament passed the “Stamp Act” to help pay for British troops stationed in the colonies during the Seven Years’ War. The act required the colonists to pay a tax, represented by a stamp, on various forms of papers, documents, and playing cards.

Why is the Tea Act important?

This act eliminated the customs duty on the company’s tea and permitted its direct export to America. Though the company’s tea was still subject to the Townshend tax, dropping the customs duty would allow the East India Company to sell its tea for less than smuggled Dutch tea.

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 was tea so important to the colonists?

Tea drinking and tea parties held a significant role in the society of colonial America. Serving tea to one’s guests showed both their politeness and hospitality. In the early 1700’s, tea was more expensive due to its scarceness, and social tea drinking was a luxury of upper class colonists.

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.

When did the tea tax happen?

The Tea Act of 1773 was one of several measures imposed on the American colonists by the heavily indebted British government in the decade leading up to the American Revolutionary War (1775-83).

How did Parliament respond to the protest 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.

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 pass the Tea Act for kids?

The British Parliament passed the Tea Act in May 1773. It reinforced a tea tax in the American colonies. The act also allowed the British East India Company to have a monopoly on the tea trade there. This meant that the American colonists were not allowed to buy tea from any other source.

When did Parliament pass the Tea Act colonists?

On April 27, 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.

What did England tax the colonists on?

The legislation levied a direct tax on all materials printed for commercial and legal use in the colonies, from newspapers and pamphlets to playing cards and dice. Though the Stamp Act employed a strategy that was a common fundraising vehicle in England, it stirred a storm of protest in the colonies.

Why is tea not taxed?

The American colonists opposed the Tea Act because it left the Townshend Act (and the collecting of tax on the colonies), and EIC’s tea monopoly, in force. Resistance to the Tea Act was widespread in the colony with British tea being boycotted, refused entry to American ports, and in some cases, destroyed.

Why was tea so important to the colonists and Britain?

American colonists, frustrated and angry at Britain for imposing “taxation without representation,” dumped 342 chests of tea, imported by the British East India Company into the harbor. The event was the first major act of defiance to British rule over the colonists.

Why was tea so important to the British?

The warm beverage was especially appealing given Britain’s cold and wet climate. Additionally, tea helped alleviate some of the consequences of industrial urbanization, as drinking tea required boiling the water, thereby killing water-borne diseases like dysentery, cholera, and typhoid.

How did the British react to the Tea Act?

The British response to the Boston Tea Party was to impose even more stringent policies on the Massachusetts colony. The Coercive Acts levied fines for the destroyed tea, sent British troops to Boston, and rewrote the colonial charter of Massachusetts, giving broadly expanded powers to the royally appointed governor.