Boston Tea Party Word Search

ADAMS – Samuel Adams was a prominent patriot leader and organizer who helped plan the Boston Tea Party protest against British taxation without colonial representation.

BOSTON – The colonial city in Massachusetts where patriots dumped tea into the harbor on December 16, 1773, protesting British taxation and control over commerce.

CARGO – The shipment of British East India Company tea aboard three vessels, valued at approximately 10,000 pounds sterling, that colonists destroyed during the protest.

COLONIST – A person living in one of Britain’s thirteen American colonies who faced taxation without parliamentary representation, fueling resentment toward British rule and policies.

COLONIES – The thirteen British territories along North America’s eastern coast that united in opposition to unfair taxation, eventually leading to the American Revolutionary War.

CONGRESS – Colonial assembly bodies that coordinated resistance against British policies, later forming the Continental Congress to govern and unite the rebelling American colonies together.

CRATES – Wooden containers holding approximately 342 chests of tea that patriots broke open and emptied into Boston Harbor during the midnight protest action.

DARTMOUTH – One of three British ships carrying East India Company tea that was boarded by disguised colonists who dumped its cargo into Boston Harbor.

DECEMBER – The month in 1773 when the Boston Tea Party occurred specifically on the night of December 16, marking a pivotal act of colonial defiance.

DUMPED – The action of throwing 342 chests containing over 92,000 pounds of British tea into Boston Harbor, destroying the valuable cargo as political protest.

ENGLAND – The ruling nation that imposed taxes and trade restrictions on American colonies, sparking resistance that culminated in events like the Boston Tea Party.

HANCOCK – John Hancock was a wealthy merchant and patriot leader who supported the tea protest and later became the first signer of the Declaration.

HARBOR – Boston Harbor was the waterfront location where tea-laden British ships docked and where patriots dumped the cargo during their nighttime protest raid.

INDIANS – The disguise worn by colonists who dressed as Mohawk Native Americans to conceal their identities while boarding ships and destroying the tea cargo.

KING – King George III ruled Britain during the colonial period, enforcing taxation policies that angered American colonists and provoked acts of rebellion and resistance.

LIBERTY – The freedom from British tyranny and taxation without representation that American colonists sought, making the tea party a symbolic fight for independence.

MOHAWKS – The Native American tribe whose appearance colonists imitated by wearing disguises, using war paint and feathers while conducting the tea party protest.

PATRIOTS – Colonists who opposed British rule and taxation, organizing resistance movements including the Boston Tea Party to protest unfair policies and defend colonial rights.

PROTEST – An act of organized resistance against the Tea Act and British taxation, demonstrating colonial unity and willingness to defy British authority through action.

REBELS – Colonists who actively defied British laws and authority, risking punishment by participating in acts like the Boston Tea Party to resist imperial control.

SHIPS – The three British vessels named Dartmouth, Eleanor, and Beaver that carried East India Company tea and were boarded during the Boston Tea Party.

TAXES – Duties imposed by Britain on colonial goods including tea, creating resentment over taxation without representation that sparked resistance movements and eventual revolution.

TEA – The British East India Company product taxed under the Tea Act, symbolizing colonial oppression and becoming the target of destruction during the protest.

TOWNSHEND – The Townshend Acts imposed duties on imported goods including tea, glass, and paper, angering colonists and contributing to revolutionary sentiment in America.