American Revolution

11 Pages 2627 Words

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a. The middle class enjoyed drinking tea as well, if somewhat pretentiously. Samuel Johnson described himself as "a hardened and shameless tea drinker who has for twenty years diluted his meals with only the infusion of this fascinating plant; whose kettle has scarcely time to cool, who with tea amuses the evening , with tea solaces the midnight, and with tea welcomes the morning" (Labaree p. 3).
The first Europeans to try tea were presumably the Portuguese. No known importations into Europe took place until the Dutch East India Company ventured shipments in 1610. In the beginning of 1667, the English East India Company started to import tea. Twenty years later they entered the business diligently. Once firmly in the trade, the English East India Company quickly surpassed its adversary by purchasing tea directly from Canton, while the Dutch East India Company obtained tea at a greater cost from Chinese vessels sailing to Batavia. Tea was the most profitable line of business for the English East India Company; selling up to four-million pounds a year in the 1760's. To pay for the purchase of tea, the English East India Company relied on shipments of bullion and the Dutch traded with pepper. The Dutch East India Company, in 1729, established connections with Canton itself. Soon after, the French, Swedish, and Danish merchants formed their own East India Companies. A fierce competition for Chinese tea began.
Importing was not the only way tea reached America. In the late 1760's, high custom duties encouraged the smuggling of tea. Although it is difficult to calculate the amount of tea smuggled into America and determine the total consumption before the Revolution, about fifty-eight percent of tea was smuggled into the continent (Postmus p. 53). Hundreds of Englishmen led dangerous lives transporting tea from France, Holland, and Scandinavia. Most of the illegally smuggled tea...