Английская Википедия:Edenton Tea Party

Материал из Онлайн справочника
Перейти к навигацииПерейти к поиску

Шаблон:Short description

Файл:Edenton Teapot.jpg
Edenton Tea Pot. Sculpted in 1905, this teapot commemorates the 1774 Edenton Tea Party.

The Edenton Tea Party was a political protest in Edenton, North Carolina, in response to the Tea Act, passed by the British Parliament in 1773. Inspired by the Boston Tea Party and the calls for tea boycotts and the resolutions of the first North Carolina Provincial Congress, 51 women, led by Penelope Barker, met on October 25, 1774, and signed a statement of protest vowing to give up tea and boycott other British products "until such time that all acts which tend to enslave our Native country shall be repealed."[1] The boycott was one of the events that led up to the American Revolution (1775–1781).[2] It was the "first recorded women's political demonstration in America".[3]

Background

The British had implemented taxes and policies against Colonial Americans[3] to offset the money spent by the British during the French and Indian Wars (1754–1763).Шаблон:Sfn They also taxed the square footage of colonist's homes, but they did not represent the colonists in the British Parliament.Шаблон:Sfn When the Tea Act of 1773 was passed by the Parliament, colonists became especially angry. The act gave the British East India Tea Company a monopoly in the colonies.[3] Tea was important to colonists for a couple of reasons. Drinking tea was safer than drinking water, although they did not know at that time that it destroyed germs in the water. It was also a sign of sophistication and luxury.Шаблон:Sfn In addition, it was a long-standing daily tradition of the British, and colonial social events "were defined by the amount and quality of tea provided".Шаблон:Sfn

The money that the British gathered from the colonists was to be used to make judges and governors loyal to the British and prove that the British led the thirteen colonies.Шаблон:Sfn

The First Continental Congress passed non-importation resolutions in 1774 to boycott British teas and textiles.[3] At that time, the ideal woman was "fragile, fair, not particularly bright, and certainly not interested in public affairs".Шаблон:Sfn It was expected that woman would marry and have children, and thus focus on their roles as wives and mothers over sometimes short lives, and to the exclusion of being involved in political issues. By the 18th century, many women were able to read newspapers, which were published more in a more widespread than earlier. Through the newspapers, women learned about political affairs.Шаблон:Sfn

Файл:Boston Tea Party w.jpg
W.D. Cooper. "Boston Tea Party", The History of North America. London: E. Newberry, 1789.

Since women would be required to find substitutes for British tea, cloth, and other taxed goods, it was crucial to have their support during the boycotts and protests organized and popularized by men.Шаблон:Sfn Colonial women boycotted all British imports and even formed groups and signed resolutions, like the Edenton Tea Party, to encourage other women to protest against taxes without representation. Unlike the men of the Boston Tea Party, the women did wear costumes to hide who they were.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn There were similar tea parties in other ports. Protesting and boycotting allowed women opportunities to act as patriots, standing with men on this political issue.Шаблон:Sfn Historian Carol Berkin states,

Шаблон:Quote

The succession of taxes and policies against the colonists led to the Revolutionary War (1775–1781).Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn

Edenton, listed on ship's papers as "The port of Roanoke", was an international port for the transit of goods between the Colony of North Carolina, Europe, and the West Indies. Two-masted schooners had left the port with tobacco, corn, salt fish, lumber, and turpentine. When her husband, Thomas Barker, learned of her plans, he tried to dissuade her.Шаблон:Sfn

Edenton Tea Party

Файл:Edenton Tea Party plaque - North Carolina State Capitol - DSC05910.JPG
Plaque commemorating the Edenton Tea Party, October 25, 1774. Located inside the North Carolina State Capitol in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Barker was known as a patriot of the Revolution and ten months after the famous Boston Tea Party, she organized a Tea Party of her own. Penelope wrote a statement proposing a boycott of British goods, like cloth and tea. Followed by 50 other women, the Edenton Tea Party was created.[2][4]

On October 25, 1774, Barker and her supporters, Edenton Ladies Patriotic Guild, met at the house of Elizabeth King to sign the Edenton Tea Party resolution that protested the British Tea Act of 1773.[2][4]Шаблон:EfnШаблон:Efn

The petition stated, Шаблон:Quote

Шаблон:Quote

They recommended that women serve buttermilk, apple cider, and spring water instead of tea.Шаблон:Sfn At the event, they drank a tea made from mulberry leaves, lavender, and locally grown herbs.[3] The Edenton Tea Party was a landmark, not because of the stances taken—boycotts were common across the Thirteen Colonies—but because it was organized by women.[5] It was the "first recorded women's political demonstration in [Colonial] America".[3]Шаблон:Sfn Barker continued to protest throughout the Revolutionary War.[3]

Aftermath

Файл:Edenton-North-Carolina-women-Tea-boycott-1775.jpg
The political cartoon of the Edenton Tea Party was published in the London press.

The petition was published in colonial newspapers and London. Barker also sent a letter to London.Шаблон:Sfn[6]

The reaction in England was mostly derogatory and dismissive, as seen in engraver Philip Dawe's satirical depiction of the event.[5] The women were mocked in the London papers.[3]Шаблон:Sfn A political cartoon entitled Edenton Tea Party was published and released in London on January 16, 1775.[4] The cartoon portrayed the women as bad mothers with loose morals and received misogynistic ridicule.[3]Шаблон:Sfn

The women were praised as patriots by the Colonial American press.[3] Other women followed suit by swearing off tea.Шаблон:Sfn Southern women danced in ballgowns made from homespun fabric (that started with the homespun movement). Northern women had spinning bees for the production of homemade material.Шаблон:Sfn A ship-load of imported East India Company tea was locked away in a port in Charles Town (now Charleston, South Carolina) for months because it could not be sold with the tax.Шаблон:Sfn At the start of the Revolution,[7] a group of patriots captured the tea and sold it to other patriots to fund the rebellion against the British.Шаблон:Sfn They had also ousted royal officials and agents at the time.Шаблон:Sfn The Daughters of Liberty, like the Sons of Liberty, boycotted British goods.Шаблон:Sfn

There was little written about the Edenton Tea Party for some time. The first book written about the event was The Historic Tea Party of Edenton, 1774: Incident in North Carolina Connected with Taxation written by Richard Dillard in 1892. In 1907, Mary Dawes Staples wrote an article entitled The Edenton Tea Party, which was published by the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).Шаблон:Sfn Mitchell, in 2015, performs an extensive review of the events of the Edenton Tea Party in "Chapter Three: Uncovering the Events of October 24, 1776" in Treasonous Tea: The Edenton Tea Party of 1774.Шаблон:Sfn

In 1908, a plaque was dedicated by the Daughters of the American Revolution of North Carolina and placed in the state Capitol Building in Raleigh, North Carolina. It honored her leadership at the Edenton Tea Party.Шаблон:Sfn In 1940, a marker was placed at West Queen Street (US 17 Business) in Edenton by the North Carolina Highway Historical Marker Program. It states, "Women in this town led by Penelope Barker in 1774 resolved to boycott British imports. Early and influential activism by women."[8]

Шаблон:See also

See also

Notes

Шаблон:Notelist

References

Шаблон:Reflist

Sources

External links

Шаблон:American Revolution origins Шаблон:Authority control