I'll Take My Tea with a Little Lemon, and Some Rebellion on the Side

May 10th commemorates the Tea Act being passed by English Parliament in 1773. This act helped aid the East India Company rid its enormous supply of tea, held in a London warehouse. The massive surplus of tea was weighing down the company, and the passing of this legislature helped keep the company from collapsing.

A little background: Previously, the E.I.Co. was required to sell all its tea exclusively to London merchants, paying a duty in the process. Tea sent to American colonies was then highly marked up. So, the colonists began importing tea from the Dutch instead, which the English treated as smuggling. The tea may not have been quite as good as the English teas, but they were priced right.

This Tea Act help spur the rebellion in the colonies, culminating in the Boston Tea Party (December 16, 1773), and from there, outright Revolution!