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Was the Boston Tea Party REALLY a peaceful protest?

Was the Boston Tea Party REALLY a peaceful protest?

HistoryExtra's Elinor Evans explores the true story behind the infamous destruction of tea in Boston Harbour in December 1773 – a radical act of defiance that helped ignite the American Revolution

Elinor Evans

Published: December 16, 2025 at 1:29 PM

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With more than £1 million worth of tea (in today’s money) dumped into the water, this was no minor protest. Was it just about taxes? Or was it a violent rejection of British imperial power, corporate monopoly, and political control?

HistoryExtra's Elinor Evans explores the true story behind the infamous destruction of tea in Boston Harbour in December 1773 – a radical act of defiance that helped ignite the American Revolution.

Featuring expert insights from:

Professor Benjamin Carp, Daniel M. Lyons Chair in American History at Brooklyn College, and author of Defiance of the Patriots: The Boston Tea Party and the Making of America (Yale, 2010)
Professor Sarah Churchwell, Professor of American Literature and Chair of Public Understanding of the Humanities at the School of Advanced Study, University of London
Professor Sarah Purcell, L.F. Parker Professor of History, and author of Sealed with Blood: War, Sacrifice, and Memory in Revolutionary America (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2010)

We unpack the real events of 16 December 1773 – from the role of Indigenous disguises to the targeting of the East India Company – and explore how this single night in Boston sparked a political firestorm that would change the world.

Explore the full five-part podcast series on the story of the Boston Tea Party, featuring all the speakers in this video.

Authors

Elinor EvansHead of digital (web and video)

Elinor Evans is head of digital (web and video)

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