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Photos: Boston Tea Party turns 250 years old with reenactments of the revolutionary protest

Tea for the reenactment was supplied by the East India Co., the same British company that was at the center of the raucous dispute.

The Sons of Liberty pour the first chest of British tea into the Boston Harbor at the 250th reenactment of the Boston Tea Party on Dec 16. Tanner Pearson for The Boston Globe

By The Associated Press

December 17, 2023

3 minutes to read

BOSTON (AP) — Patriotic mobs and harbor tea-dumping returned to Boston on Saturday as the city marked the 250th anniversary of the revolutionary protest that preceded America’s independence.

The Boston Tea Party of 1773, is depicted in an undated engraving. Bostonians dressed as Indians dumped 342 chests of tea overboard from three British ships in protest against “taxation without representation.” Patriotic mobs and harbor tea dumping are returning to Boston on Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023, as the city marks the 250th anniversary of the revolutionary protest that preceded America’s independence. (AP Photo)

The commemoration of the Boston Tea Party included scheduled reenactments of the throwing of tea leaves into the city’s harbor and community meetings that preceded the defiant act on Dec. 16, 1773 — though this time, the symbolic protest was aided by spotlights and microphones. City officials were expecting thousands of visitors for the celebration.

A letter from John Hancock dated April 18, 1776, is seen in this photo provided by The Raab Collection. Hancock, a signer of the Declaration of Independence who helped stoke outrage at the British, is being remembered as the United States commemorates the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party. (Photo by The Raab Collection via AP)

Crowds who gathered to watch the reenactment quickly joined in, shouting “Huzzah!” along with the costumed actors as boxes of tea were dumped in the harbor. Later, they resoundingly booed an actor who read King George III’s order closing the bay, and they cheered as narrators detailed the drafting of the Declaration of Independence.

Wilfree Fischer, played by Greg Hurley, speaks during the reenactment of the Meeting of the Body of the People in the Old South Meeting House during the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party in Boston, Dec. 16, 2023. (Nathan Klima for The Boston Globe)

Tea for the reenactment was supplied by the East India Co., the same British company that was at the center of the raucous dispute.

Samuel Savage, played by Henry Cooke, moderates the reenactment of the Meeting of the Body of the People in the Old South Meeting House during the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party in Boston, Dec. 16, 2023. (Nathan Klima for The Boston Globe)

During the historic event, protesting “taxation without representation,” members of the Sons of Liberty and others boarded East India Co. ships and dumped their valuable haul — some 92,000 pounds (41,700 kilograms) of tea worth nearly $2 million today — into the murky waters of Boston Harbor.

William Molineux, played by Niels Hobbs, reacts to a comment made during the reenactment of the Meeting of the Body of the People in the Old South Meeting House during the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party in Boston, Dec. 16, 2023. (Nathan Klima for The Boston Globe)

Great Britain responded with military rule and other sanctions on Massachusetts, stoking American opposition to colonial rule.

Phillis Wheatley, played by Adreyanua Jean-Louis, speaks during the reenactment of the Meeting of the Body of the People in the Old South Meeting House during the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party in Boston, Dec. 16, 2023. (Nathan Klima for The Boston Globe)

The Boston Tea Party is considered a pivotal event leading the American Revolutionary War.

Paul Revere, played by Tim Abbott, shares some harsh words during the reenactment of the Meeting of the Body of the People in the Old South Meeting House during the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party in Boston, Dec. 16, 2023. (Nathan Klima for The Boston Globe)

“It’s a reminder for all of us, not just here in the United States but all over the world, that democracy is in action: Doing what’s right, no matter the odds, for our friends, our families, our homes, our future,” Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said at a news conference Friday previewing the anniversary.