Congress Street Bridge
617-338-1773
The Boston Tea Party Ship and
Museum is an interactive experience of the most significant event
leading to the American Revolution. On board the Brig Beaver II
- a full-sized replica of a tea party ship- visitors will reenact
the cold night on December 16th, 1773 when a group of
patriots, disguised as native Americans, raided three tea ships,
dumping their cargoes over board and into the Boston Harbor.
The raid was lead by Boston Whigs and Sons
of Liberty and arranged by patriot and politician Samuel Adams.
Adams, a native of Boston and graduate of Harvard College, was
actively involved in town meetings and became a full-time
politician in 1764 when he was elected to the Massachusetts
legislature. He adamantly opposed several laws passed by British
Parliament to raise revenue, including the Tea Act which created a
monopoly in tea importing to the colonies and favored Britain’s
East India Company.
The Tea Act in 1773 became the most
controversial law passed by the British Parliament at the time,
causing Boston colonists to rebel against the tax on the tea.
Their boycott reached its climax when a band of colonists raided
the British tea ships on Griffin’s Wharf, dumping 342 tea chests
into the harbor while shouting those now famous words,
"Taxation without representation."
The British Parliament reaction to
the colonists’ rebellion was the passing of the
"Intolerable Acts," a set of laws which closed the
Boston Harbor and restricted town meetings. As a result, Adams
implored the American Colonies to a general boycott on British
trade. Collection of taxes on imported tea failed in New York
City, Philadelphia, and Charleston, but only Boston rebelled by
dumping the British Company’s tea into its harbor.
Visitors to the Boston Tea Party
Ship and Museum will learn about the political and economic
conditions that lead to the colonists’ rebellious act known as
the Boston Tea Party. They will tour the authentically restored
galley, captain’s quarters and cargo hold and relive December 16th
1773 through the words and images of "Paul Revere
Remembers."
Guests aboard the Brig Beaver II
will complete their dramatization of the Boston Tea Party by
throwing bales of tea over the side of the brig as they shout
"Taxation without representation."
The museum offers an interactive
exhibit on tea shipbuilding and the colonial pursuit for a better
way of life. An extensive gift shop contains the largest selection
of teapots in the city of Boston.
Hours:
Closed December through March 1st
and Thanksgiving Day
Spring & fall: 9a.m. - 5 p.m.
Summer: 9a.m. - 6 p.m.
Admission:
Adults: $8
Children ages 4 to 12: $4
(3 and under free)
Tours:
Every 30 minutes beginning at 9:30
a.m.
Last showing at 5 p.m.
Parking:
Five minute walk from South Station
Adjacent to the Children’s Museum
and public parking
