Tea Blog

The phrase “tea party” carries a number of meanings today. It might refer to a traditional social gathering with tea and light refreshments, or to a modern political movement. It can also describe a series of colonial protests, as discussed in

this overview of lesser-known tea-related protests in colonial America
,
or it may refer specifically to the Boston Tea Party of 1773.

A quick search for books on the Boston Tea Party reveals an enormous body of literature, much of it written in modern times. For a different perspective, however, it can be worthwhile to look at works created closer to the event itself.

One example is James Hawkes’ A Retrospect of the Boston Tea-party, first published in 1834. The book includes a memoir of George R. T. Hewes, one of the participants in the event.

In his introduction, Hawkes suggests that the group involved in the Tea Party may have numbered anywhere from around sixty to as many as two hundred individuals. He also notes that participants were understandably reluctant to publicize their involvement at the time.

By the early 19th century, Hewes was believed to be one of the last surviving participants. His recollections offer a firsthand account of the event, though they are interwoven with details from other parts of his life.

A second work drawing from similar material is Benjamin Bussey Thatcher’s Traits of the Tea Party, published in 1835. While covering much of the same historical ground, it presents the story in a more structured format, with clearly organized chapters and summaries.

Both works provide early historical interpretations of the Boston Tea Party and can be consulted either in full or selectively, depending on the reader’s interest.

You can access them online through

this digitized edition of Hawkes’ account of the Boston Tea Party and George Hewes’ memoir

and

this digitized version of Thatcher’s historical narrative and recollections of the event
,
both of which are freely available.

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