“Friends! Brethren! Countrymen!–That worst of plagues, the detested tea, shipped for this port by the East India Company, has now arrived in the harbor.”
Liberty's Kids: Two teenage reporters cover the events of the Revolutionary War for Ben Franklin’s newspaper, The Philadelphia Gazette. James, an American colonist, brings the rebels’ point of view to life while Sarah, a young Englishwoman stranded by fate in America, gives us the British viewpoint in her letters to her mother back in London. Meanwhile, in Paris, Ben Franklin creates strong diplomatic bonds with France, America’s first and staunchest ally. Caught on opposite sides of the hostilities, Ben’s teenage reporters confront the real, physical dangers of the conflict, forced to choose between their friendship and their countries, their understanding of good and evil, and the moral dilemmas of war. All the while trying to look after mischievous Henri, an immigrant French boy whose comical escapades constantly lead to trouble, as they bear witness to the high points of the American revolution.
Colonists in Boston rebel against "taxation without representation" by throwing a fortune in tea into the harbor (12/16/73). Moses, James and Henri travel to Boston in search of Sarah, who has arrived from England on a tea-laden ship.
Colonists in Boston rebel against "taxation without representation" by throwing a fortune in tea into the harbor (12/16/73). Moses, James and Henri travel to Boston in search of Sarah, who has arrived from England on a tea-laden ship.
The Story of the American Revolution begins with the Boston Tea Party. There were three ships that participated in the B.T.P. and they were named the Dartmouth, Eleanor and the Beaver.
Dartmouth - Captain Hall, carried 114 chests of tea; arrived on Sunday, November 28th
Eleanor - Captain Coffin, carried 114 chests of tea; arrived on Thursday, December 2nd
Beaver - Captain Bruce, carried 112 chests of tea, docked on Wednesday, December 15th
Apparently the Beaver was delayed for medical reasons. A case of smallpox broke out on the ship and it was quarantined in the outer harbor for two weeks.
There was also a fourth ship sent to Boston, the William. It was due to come in but the vessel was damaged by a storm and had to come ashore at Cape Cod with salvable payload but the ship was totally lost.
Sometimes the tea party ships are mistakenly called British. In fact only the tea belonged to East India Tea Company but the ships themselves were American. Nantucket was home port to two ships that were involved in the Boston Tea Party, the Beaver and the Dartmouth. The ships were owned by the Rotch family whose offices were located at the foot of Main Street in the brick building now called The Pacific Club.
Francis Rotch the son of the owner, Joseph Rotch was caught in between the Patriots who did not allow the ships to unload and the Governor Hutchinson who did not permit the ships to go back to Britain. Likely not without the Governor’s pull, the customs officers rushed the necessary paperwork for the import of the tea, after which the ship could not legally set sail for England with the tea still on board.
An armed guard of patriots was posted at the wharf to prevent the tea coming ashore, while a naval blockade of the harbor prevented the ships from leaving. As a result the owner of the ships risked them being confiscated by the navy or even sunk.
Mr. Rotch tried to negotiate but was not successful. In this situation perhaps even the patriots were sympathetic. This may explain the fact that the “Mohawks” who attacked the ship did not damage the ships themselves, only the tea. The ships’ crews later stated that nothing had been damaged or destroyed except the tea - and the protesters swept the decks clean afterwards
History of DartmouthHMS Dartmouth specifications W: 9.84 (3m). L: 79 (24m). Hull: wood. Built: <1773.
Dartmouth was the first tea party ship and has been stationed in the harbor for a while and it is therefore the most known. Even though the ship made history for carrying tea it was built for a different purpose – offshore whaling. Its story begins in Bedford Village, MA where many residents were whalers and shipbuilders.
Around 1780, William Rotch, Jr., a Nantucket Quaker moved to Bedford Village. Rotch was a third-generation whaling merchant and banker. He immediately decided to use his capital to develop the whale fishery. Rotch gave whaling a substantial impetus, and it continued to be New Bedford's chief industry for more than a hundred years. Rotch was the owner of the first ship to be launched in Bedford Village, the Dartmouth, built in 1767. Her initial voyage was to London with a cargo of whale oil. After Dartmouth New Bedford's ship building industry started to grow and attracted many leading ship builders including George Claghorn.
Sometimes the tea party ships are mistakenly called British. In fact only the tea belonged to East India Tea Company but the ships themselves were American. Nantucket was homeport to two ships that were involved in the Boston Tea Party, the Beaver and the Dartmouth. Even though Dartmouth made history for carrying tea it was built for a different purpose – offshore whaling.
Dartmouth - Captain Hall, carried 114 chests of tea; arrived on Sunday, November 28th
Eleanor - Captain Coffin, carried 114 chests of tea; arrived on Thursday, December 2nd
Beaver - Captain Bruce, carried 112 chests of tea, docked on Wednesday, December 15th
Apparently the Beaver was delayed for medical reasons. A case of smallpox broke out on the ship and it was quarantined in the outer harbor for two weeks.
There was also a fourth ship sent to Boston, the William. It was due to come in but the vessel was damaged by a storm and had to come ashore at Cape Cod with salvable payload but the ship was totally lost.
Sometimes the tea party ships are mistakenly called British. In fact only the tea belonged to East India Tea Company but the ships themselves were American. Nantucket was home port to two ships that were involved in the Boston Tea Party, the Beaver and the Dartmouth. The ships were owned by the Rotch family whose offices were located at the foot of Main Street in the brick building now called The Pacific Club.
Francis Rotch the son of the owner, Joseph Rotch was caught in between the Patriots who did not allow the ships to unload and the Governor Hutchinson who did not permit the ships to go back to Britain. Likely not without the Governor’s pull, the customs officers rushed the necessary paperwork for the import of the tea, after which the ship could not legally set sail for England with the tea still on board.
An armed guard of patriots was posted at the wharf to prevent the tea coming ashore, while a naval blockade of the harbor prevented the ships from leaving. As a result the owner of the ships risked them being confiscated by the navy or even sunk.
Mr. Rotch tried to negotiate but was not successful. In this situation perhaps even the patriots were sympathetic. This may explain the fact that the “Mohawks” who attacked the ship did not damage the ships themselves, only the tea. The ships’ crews later stated that nothing had been damaged or destroyed except the tea - and the protesters swept the decks clean afterwards
History of DartmouthHMS Dartmouth specifications W: 9.84 (3m). L: 79 (24m). Hull: wood. Built: <1773.
Dartmouth was the first tea party ship and has been stationed in the harbor for a while and it is therefore the most known. Even though the ship made history for carrying tea it was built for a different purpose – offshore whaling. Its story begins in Bedford Village, MA where many residents were whalers and shipbuilders.
Around 1780, William Rotch, Jr., a Nantucket Quaker moved to Bedford Village. Rotch was a third-generation whaling merchant and banker. He immediately decided to use his capital to develop the whale fishery. Rotch gave whaling a substantial impetus, and it continued to be New Bedford's chief industry for more than a hundred years. Rotch was the owner of the first ship to be launched in Bedford Village, the Dartmouth, built in 1767. Her initial voyage was to London with a cargo of whale oil. After Dartmouth New Bedford's ship building industry started to grow and attracted many leading ship builders including George Claghorn.
Sometimes the tea party ships are mistakenly called British. In fact only the tea belonged to East India Tea Company but the ships themselves were American. Nantucket was homeport to two ships that were involved in the Boston Tea Party, the Beaver and the Dartmouth. Even though Dartmouth made history for carrying tea it was built for a different purpose – offshore whaling.
In response to the Boston Tea Party, the British Parliament passes the “Intolerable Acts,” including "quartering." Boston becomes an occupied city (3/74-6/74). In England, Ben Franklin faces charges of treason (1/74). Moses, James, Sarah and Henri hide at poet Phillis Wheatley’s house in Boston, where some of His Majesty’s soldiers are being quartered.
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At the First Continental Congress, representatives of each colony meet as a group for the first time. Sam and John Adams argue that the Intolerable Acts are not just a New England problem, they are an "American problem." The British shut down Boston Harbor to all trade.
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Patrick Henry, the greatest speaker of his day, stirs the South to the cause of freedom with his famous "Give me Liberty or give me death!" speech (3/23/75). Lord Dunmore’s Proclamation offers liberty to any slave who will fight for the British (11/14/75).
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Paul Revere and William Dawes spread the word that the "British are coming!" on the eve of "the shot heard 'round the world." Sarah and James travel to Boston to deliver a message to Patriot leader Dr. Joseph Warren and end up riding with the famous messengers.
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The Revolutionary War begins with the battles of Lexington and Concord. Minutemen -- citizens taking up arms -- fight the powerful, experienced Red Coats.
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Trouble erupts in the New Hampshire Grants when settlers are forced from their homes (1770-1775). Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold reluctantly join forces to capture Fort Ticonderoga in New York -- thereby expanding the war beyond New England.
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