The Boston Tea Party is something I’m certain most Americans are familiar with – and an event that has a particular significance to us Americans on Independence Day (note: I originally wrote this on July 4, 2020). It was a major act of defiance and an historic event on the march toward independence from Great Britain for the United States. It’s a celebrated act of justifiable vandalism against the British establishment because additional taxes were being levied on the American colonists, but they weren’t being appropriately represented in the British Parliament (i.e. “taxation without representation”).
My understanding on this might be rudimentary since I’m not, despite my best efforts, particularly well-versed in history or politics, but this wasn’t like federal income tax, this was taxes on printed papers, paint, glass, and tea. These were taxes on goods – like produced goods and imports – and not money skimmed from a paycheck (a comparison could be something like Puerto Rico where they don’t pay federal income taxes (they do contribute to Medicare, social security, etc) but they do pay taxes on imports & other miscellaneous taxes without having voting representation in Congress or electoral votes in Presidential elections). Colonists were upset because taxes were being imposed on their goods and they didn’t have any say in the process.
This concept of taxation without representation is a major crux in the stories of American independence. A bunch of colonists were pissed off that goods were being taxed and they had no say in the matter – it sparked a revolution, established the US as a free nation, and now we eat hot dogs and watch fireworks in celebration of that defiance nearly 250 years ago. American states now have representatives in Congress.
While we’re celebrating our Independence Day, I think it’s important to reflect on other All-American moments in history that define the rebel colonies that became a nation, and how these events are relevant even in our modern times.
Throughout the 1700s, Boston had earned a bit of a reputation in the Americas for its rioting, not just the Tea Party. Boston was home to nearly 30 riots in about 65 years (the math is about 1 riot every 2.3 years). Bostonians rioted over everything from impressment (“the draft”) to taxes. The bread riots, though, were over something more mundane: food.
Boston was crowded at the start of the century and not particularly great for growing crops, so all their food needed to be imported. Unfortunately, Boston’s economy wasn’t particularly booming during this time and a large chunk of the population was the disenfranchised poor. As the market is dictated by the merchants, food shortages became a problem for the poor folks in Boston as merchants hoarded grain, sold locally at an inflated price, and exported their grains to foreign markets for an even higher profit. This created a problem for the working poor in Boston as they were not able to afford food and the supply was artificially diminished by rich merchant hoarding. Unfortunately, as the poor were also not land owners, they weren’t able to vote, so they had no political say in the matter and the exploitation of the working class could continue unimpeded for the sake of profit. There were, apparently, attempts to prohibit this exploitation, but the colonial legislature refused to comply.
Andrew Belcher was one of most prominent merchants in Boston and has been credited for manufacturing this shortage. Belcher was a man of extreme wealth and owned the second largest fleet of ships in Boston – a stark contrast to the common man who owned nothing. Two of the three riots were directed at Belcher and his ships. The first riot occurred in 1710 when a group of men sawed off one of the ship’s rudders before it could sail away with around 6,000 bushels of grain. The following night, a group of 50 men hijacked the ship and attempted to force the captain ashore. The men were arrested for their wanton destruction of personal property, but, as their cause and actions were so popular with the people, they were released without being charged. A sentiment shared among the common folk of the time was that the welfare of the people was more important to sustaining the populace than the riches of the elite few who manufactured the crisis.
Unfortunately, food shortages would persist through the decade. In 1711, a fire ripped through Boston, leaving many homeless and worse off than before. The riots that followed (from what I can gather on the limited information I can find on this) didn’t have a clear villain and people likely struck out against nature, the rich (who had a clear advantage during this difficult time), and the fact that there was no safety net in place to protect the poor. This is all speculation, of course, but they likely banded together in anger because “the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.”
Despite all this unrest, Belcher continued to hoard grain at the expense of human life. The local food supply diminished while prices rose, and Belcher’s wealth with it. This time, in May 1713, two hundred Boston locals stormed Belcher’s grain warehouse and shot the lieutenant governor when he attempted to stop them. The bread riot of 1713 saw some lasting impact as legislation was enacted that prohibited grain exports during shortages, grains were required to be sold to bakers at a fixed price, the size & cost of a loaf of bread was standardized, and a public granary was established where disadvantaged individuals could buy grains at a discount.
While these measures were definitely a step forward, merchants continued to hoard and manufacture shortages in the pursuit of profits. In 1741, the granary was looted and exploitation of the working poor persisted throughout the American Revolution. Andrew Belcher passed away in 1717.
“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” – Desmond Tutu
“As President Kennedy said, ‘Those who make peaceful revolution impossible only make violent revolution inevitable.'” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
You can learn more about the Boston Bread Riots here:
History As I Learn 