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250 years ago this Dec. 16, a group of American Patriots, fed up with being exploited by the British Monarchy, participated in an act of rebellion that would eventually culminate in the Revolutionary War.

This Dec. 16 in Willimantic, a modern group of patriots gathered to reenact the Boston Tea Party.

On this very day 250 years ago, men, and one woman, were finishing up their chores before heading to the Old South Meetinghouse, said Bev York, representing the America Museum, which sponsored the event.

The Loyal Nine, a Patriot political organization shrouded in secrecy, was formed in 1765 by nine citizens of Boston to protest the passing of the Stamp Act. The Loyal Nine evolved into the larger group The Sons of Liberty, the group given credit for the Boston Tea Party.

York went on to describe the origins of the event, which arose from dissatisfaction with the Tea Act of May 10, 1773, which allowed the British East India Company to sell tea from China in American colonies without paying taxes, apart from those imposed by the Townshend Acts. The act gave the East India Company, which York identified as the largest company in existence at the time, an unfair advantage over Colonial merchants.

In response, The Sons of Liberty, some disguised as Native Americans, dumped 342 chests of tea, valued at well over a million dollars today, according to York, into Boston Harbor.

There were similar events in New York City and Philadelphia. In Boston, colonists were punished by the closing down of Boston Harbor and the addition of more soldiers for protection.

The surrounding communities did now grow enough food to feed Boston, said York, noting that residents of Windham actually walked more than 200 sheep to Boston to help feed the city.

The Intolerable Acts, in addition to closing Boston Harbor, included the Massachusetts Government Act, the Administration of Justice Act, and the Quartering Act. The dissatisfaction and anger felt by colonists continued to fester until Lexington and Concord became the fist actual battle of the Revolutionary War.

Many of the folks who participated in the Tea Party would go on to fight and die in the Revolutionary War, said York.

With calls of Boston Harbor a teapot tonight, and No taxation without representation, the modern-day patriots threw their crates of tea, into the Willimantic River.

Participants in the event had different reasons for attending.

Somers resident Ryan Elgin said that he received a direct email from Bev York, whom he met at a museum opening earlier this year. He said he attended because he has a special interest in museums and history in general.

Im a good friend of Bev and Duke (York), said Bob Hackemack, who had been assigned the role Henry Prentiss, a Boston merchant.

According to York, there were between 60 and several hundred people who attended the original Boston Tea Party, and only some of the names of participants are known to this day.

Francis Akeley, for example, is known to be the only person imprisoned for the act of treason. Akeley eventually died in the war.

Sarah Bradlee is the only woman known to have attended, and reportedly came up with the idea of the patriots disguising themselves as Natives.

The America Museum is located at 47 Crescent St. in Willimantic. The museum seeks to have visitors reflect upon and understand the events, struggles and sacrifices for freedom, equality, and democracy, according to its website.

Americans must acknowledge and honor the brave, relish our victories, study the failures, help heal the scars, and ensure that we learn from the past, continues the description.

See the museums website, at americamuseum.org, for information about exhibits and upcoming events.

Dennis Gagnon holds a "torch" as he participates in a reenactment of the Boston Tea Party, held in Willimantic's Heritage Park on Dec. 16, the 250th anniversary of the original tea party. (Melanie Savage)

Bev York speaks to a crowd gathered in Heritage Park to reenact the Boston Tea Party. The event, sponsored by the America Museum, was held on Dec. 16, the 250th anniversary of the original tea party. (Melanie Savage)

Bev York oversees a sign-in table at a reenactment of the Boston Tea Party on Dec. 16. (Melanie Savage)

A "crate of tea" sits by the shore of the Willimantic River. (Melanie Savage)

David Stoloff hurls a crate of "tea" into the Willimantic River. (Melanie Savage)

Anita Sebastyen dressed appropriately for the event. (Melanie Savage)

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America Museum sponsors reenactment of the Boston Tea Party - Hartford Courant

In a space normally occupied by twenty desks arranged in a precise order, AP Literature and Composition teacher Lisa Otsuka transformed her classroom into a scene straight out of Bridgerton. Five tables are arranged inside, each with tasteful decorations including framed Pride and Prejudice quotes (My good opinion, once lost, is lost forever), bouquets of flowers, a delightful assortment of books, ceramic teapots, and freshly-picked oranges. Soft piano music plays in the background as students chat amongst themselves over tea and scones.

The Pride and Prejudice tea party occurs every year at the end of the first semester. Otsukas students read the famous Jane Austen novel, which explores themes of love, class, familial obligations, marriage, and of course, sarcastic British remarks. The plot centers around the Bennets, a genteel class family in 18th century England, and the arrival of Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley, two wealthy landowners from Pemberley and Netherfield, respectively. The focus of the novel is the relationship between the Bennets second eldest daughter, Elizabeth, and Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy. Elizabeth is known for her witty and sarcastic remarks, which explains why Otsukas students honor her character by writing a satire of their own. Their topics varied from the arduous college application process to problematic desk designs.

The tea party is held on a block day. The first 30 minutes of class are spent enjoying one anothers company. Students are seated in small groups and are encouraged to catch up and chat with one another while they snack on scones, tea, hot cocoa, and butter cookies, provided by the students themselves. In the wise words of Otsuka, the party was BYOM (Bring Your Own Mug); each student brought their own mug, often at least somewhat representative of their personality. Class favorites were senior Jude Wilsons mug featuring Sal from Impractical Jokers and senior Carlos Myers-Ascencios mug with a charming narwhal.

The next half an hour is dedicated to the reading of satires. Each student was tasked with writing a satirical passage about a subject of their choosing prior to the tea party. Every attendee presents their satire to their own table, then the funniest (or most interesting) ones are read aloud to the class. Senior Kevin Jiang said regarding the party, The satires were really fun, and later added, Ive had five cups of tea so far. The readings are interspersed with class karaoke, which featured the AP Literature students belting out the lyrics to Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen and the fan-favorite Dancing Queen by ABBA. Wilson also entertained the class with a plethora of guitar performances ranging from Radiohead to Ed Sheeran.

Given that the novel is set in 18th-century England, it only makes sense to hold a British accent contest. Each table nominates an individual whom they think has the best impression of a British accent. Then, the chosen one says their phrase aloud to the class, and the class determines the winner. From Otsukas 4th period, the winner was Minh Nguyen, with his short and sweet phrase, Poppycock!, which was only made more realistic by the presence of a top hat and spectacles. He truly looked like the protagonist of a Dickens novel.

The ambience of the whole event can be summed up in the wise words of Eduardo Sanchez, who said, It was wonderfully delightful.

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Pride and Prejudice: Tea Party With Otsuka - The M-A Chronicle

Oil painting depicting the Yorktown Tea Party, Virginias counterpart to the Boston Tea Party.(Photo/The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation)

YORKTOWN Everyone knows the story 250 years ago, rebels took shipments of tea and tossed them into the harbor to protest the taxation of the American colonies without representation but while the Boston Tea Party was the most famous, 17 other tea parties took place, including one in Yorktown.

Often overshadowed by its Boston counterpart, The Yorktown Tea Party will be marked with a week-long commemoration in November of 2024.

Its crucial to remember that the Boston Tea Party was not an isolated incident, said Michael Steen, director of education at theWatermens Museumand chair of the Yorktown Tea Party 250th Anniversary Planning Committee.

Similar protestsagainst British taxation and the lack of colonial representation in Parliament occurred throughout the colonies, including Charleston, South Carolina,which commemorated the 250th anniversary of its tea party earlier this month; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Wilmington and Edenton, North Carolina; Annapolis, Maryland; and Greenwich, New Jersey.

We 250th planners joined forces, and our friends in Boston, and said how can we help and support each other? Commented Cheryl Wilson, Executive Officer for VA250, the commission serving to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, the Revolutionary War, and the independence of the United States in the Commonwealth of Virginia. So we all formed a little group and started planning our different tea party anniversary events together. The current event, the 250th, is part of this overarching narrative nationwide showing how discord and descent was growing throughout the colonies.

While the Boston Tea Party is widely celebrated, Yorktowns remains relatively unknown, Steen said. In reali-tea, it held just as much significance in shaping the course of American history.

According to the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, the Virginia boycott of British goods went into effect on Nov. 1, 1774, one month before the Continental Association boycott went into effect. Most merchants agreed to stop imports, but a few continued to import items from Britain, and a ship called the Virginia arrived in Yorktown from England, carrying two half-chests of tea.

The tea had been imported by John Hatley Norton, the Yorktown agent of John Norton and Sons of London for a Williamsburg merchant, John Prentis. On the morning of Nov. 7, some citizens of Yorktown boarded the ship and waited throughout the morning for word from a committee of burgesses (colonial representatives).

The committee was meeting in Williamsburg to debate what to do with the tea and the ship. Hearing nothing from the committee by noon, the men hoisted the tea out of its hold and threw it in the river, just like in Boston.

News of the event spread like wildfire and would convince most Virginia merchants to sign the Continental Association. The York and Gloucester committees criticized Norton, Prentis, and Captain Howard Esten of the Virginia in the Virginia Gazette for ignoring the boycott. An apology from Prentis would be published in the same issue and then in May, an apology from Norton.

In celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Yorktown Tea Party, there will be lectures, a tea festival, tall ships in port and a tea party reenactment.

There will be other interpretive programs and a maritime festival, and even a sea shanty festival, said Darren Williams, the Yorktown Deputy Director of Economic and Tourism Development. Its going to be a really neat, week-long slate of activities.

Thanks to local support from the community and the Watermens Museum, Yorktown has been able to include an educational component. The fourth-grade class of Achilles Elementary School came to this years reenactment and were able to climb on board the vessel and dump the tea.

Its a really cool educational component thats been plugged into this whole event, Williams explained. The kids are really excited. You had half the kids on the pier and half on the ship and they started chanting Dump that Tea and then they finally dumped it.

For more information about the 250th festivities visit the official VA250 website.

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The Yorktown Tea Party at 250 - WYDaily

By DUNCAN DENT

The River of Pearls Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution held a Boston Tea Party at the Mississippi Agriculture Museum in Jackson last weekend.

Member Donna Russell of Madison said the DAR hosted the event on Saturday, Dec. 16, the actual date of the Boston Tea Party 250 years ago.

America recently celebrated the 250th Anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, and the city of Boston was not the only celebration of note, Russell said.

Children of the American Revolution (CAR) from Pontotoc, Houston, Tupelo, and Madison came to participate.

In addition, the chapter sponsored, the Junior Achievement Citizens Club from the Buddy Center (MS Downs Syndrome Association), and other special guests.

One of the special guests was Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson.

Russell said members of the River of Pearls chapter put on a play about the Boston Tea Party and offered various learning and art centers for those in attendance.

Refreshments of spiced tea and cinnamon cookies were served to those in attendance.

An American Elm Liberty Tree was planted in the Victory Garden site at the Museum in recognition of the 250th Anniversary of the Boston Tea Party and the upcoming 250th Anniversary of the United States of America that will take place July 4, 2026.

Russell said history reflects that in the early 1770s, Britain had war debts due to the French and Indian War in America. The British Parliament began taxing the American colonists to pay these debts. The Stamp Act of 1765 and the Townshend Acts of 1767 benefited the British but were not used to sustain the colonies, she said. The colonists felt the taxes were unfair, and since they did not have representation in Parliament, No taxes without representation became the cry of the colonists.

The Boston Massacre in March 1770, where five colonists were killed by the British led to further rage. The Tea Act was passed which allowed the British East India Company to sell tea to the colonies duty-free but still highly taxed when it reached colonial ports of entry. The Sons of Liberty protested the Tea Act and other forms of taxation, she said.

This group of revolutionists included patriots such as John Adams, Paul Revere, John Hancock, Dr. Joseph Warren, and Samuel Adams, she said.

On December 16, 1773, the British East India Company sent three ships: the Dartmouth, Beaver, and Eleanor into the Boston Harbor carrying over 90,000 pounds of valuable tea. That night a large group of Bostonians disguised as Mohawk Indians boarded the docked ships, and in less than three hours, threw 342 chests of tea into the Boston Harbor on the Charles River.

The names of most of those involved in the Boston Tea Party remain unknown, Russell said. And thanks to their Native American costumes, only one of the tea party participants was arrested and imprisoned; but because no one would vow he had been involved, was released.

She said King George III, in retribution, passed the Intolerable Act, to punish Boston. He felt this would squelch rebellion in New England and prevent them from uniting, but the colonies rallied to Bostons aid, and this led to the convening of the First Continental Congress and the beginning of the American Revolutionary War, which started eighteen months later.

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DAR hosts event to commemorate 250th anniversary of Boston Tea Party - Madison County Journal

The Susanna Dickinson Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution held their annual Christmas lunch on Dec. 12, at Noli Vita Restaurant in Cibolo. Fellowship, food, and fun were enjoyed by all. Christmas decorations included teapots on all the tables in celebration of the 250th Anniversary of the Boston Tea Party.

Tosca Haag presented a report on her revolutionary ancestor, who is none other than Daniel Boone. Thats right, Daniel Boone, the frontiersman was also a revolutionary patriot!

The program for the meeting was presented by 1st Vice Regent Jane McDonald and 2nd Vice Regent Patsy Beckett, celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party and how it inspired nine other tea parties that took place throughout the 13 colonies. The highlight was a presentation of the Edenton, N.C., tea party where 51 women got together to sign a resolution that protested the British Tea Act of 1773. The ladies declared their intention of no longer purchasing tea nor would they wear any item manufactured in England. Unlike the men who disguised themselves as Native Americans, the ladies signed their names on the petition and their names were printed in the local newspaper. The Edenton Tea Party was a landmark event, not just because of the stance they took, but because it was organized by women. It was the first recorded womens political demonstration in Colonial America.

At the close of the meeting, the decorative teapots were given as Christmas gifts/door prizes to all in attendance.

Information provided by Patsy Beckett.

The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is a volunteer service organization dedicated to promoting patriotism, preserving American history, and securing Americas future through better education for children. For more information, email susannadickinsonDAR@gmail.com. The chapter meets the second Tuesday of every month. All are welcome to explore the exciting world of DAR.

Excerpt from:
Susanna Dickinson Chapter celebrates the Boston Tea Party - La Vernia News