Curious onlookers stare out at the strange group of characters gathering on the wharf. It’s not clear quite how many there are, but it looks to be close to a hundred and more are still arriving. They wear cloaks, or blankets, or tattered clothes and they have coal dust smudged on their faces. In their hands are hatchets and clubs. They are supposed to look like fearsome Mohawk warriors, but they’ve missed the mark. Mostly, they just look dirty and disheveled, but their crude outfits are enough to disguise their identities and that seems good enough for them.
Among this group amassing at Griffin’s wharf is a shoemaker named George Hewes. Hewes is nobody special, just a concerned citizen of the city of Boston, just one member of the crowd. But he stands ready to carry out his mission. The energy level is high and so are the stakes. What this group is about to attempt is a criminal act. If caught and prosecuted, they very well may face prison… or even death.
It’s December 16, 1773 in Boston, Massachusetts. Tensions are high. The British government is taxing tea in the American Colonies. The American colonists, like their British counterparts, love their tea, but with the taxes imposed on them by the imperial government, many of them boycott the tea shipped by the British East India Company in favor of tea smuggled in on colonial ships. Attempts by the British government to appease the colonists and get them to buy their tea without removing the tea tax have proved unsuccessful. The British government is about to learn just how serious some Americans are about not buying their tea.
Several East India Company ships are turned away from American ports in late 1773. In November, one ship, the Dartmouth, arrives in Boston laden with literally tons of East India Company tea. The people of Boston quickly pass a resolution calling for the ship to be turned away. But the Governor of Massachusetts, Thomas Hutchinson, ignores the resolution, not permitting the ship to leave the harbor without unloading its cargo. By the middle of December, there are three ships sitting in Boston’s harbor full of tea. They’re constantly watched to make sure that none of their cargo is unloaded, but they are also forbidden to leave the port. It seems like a stalemate.
But then, on the evening December 16th, a small army marches out to the wharf, their faces besmirched with soot, their hands clasping their hatchets. They know why they are here and what they have to do. The men are split into three groups and they board all three ships at the same time. On board one of those ships, Bostonian shoemaker George Hewes is given the task of approaching the ship’s captain to demand the keys to the ship’s hold. When Hewes makes the demand, the captain obliges, unsure what to expect next.
But if he expected mayhem, he finds himself deeply surprised. The scene that unfolds is not one of chaos and destruction. Instead, everything is done carefully and according to plan. The men are to disturb nothing but the tea. They use their hatches to splinter the chests that hold the tea before tossing it all overboard. But they don’t damage the ships or any of the other cargo.
A crowd gathers on the wharf to take in the spectacle and they comment to each other about how calm and controlled the whole thing is. It doesn’t feel angry or vindictive. They could almost forget that this is an act of civil disobedience—maybe even treason.
Crate after crate is shattered, and soon tea is scattered across the decks of all three ships. And some try to seize on what seems like a perfect opportunity.
Our friend George Hewes is hard at work when he spots an acquaintance who has come on board discreetly picking up handfuls of the tea and slipping them into his jacket pocket. The men have been strictly instructed to toss every bit of the tea in the harbor, so as the man is about to disembark, Hewes catches him by the back of his coat to keep him from escaping with his pilfered tea. The man tries to run, leaving his coat in Hewes’ hand. The crowd on the wharf, having caught a glimpse of the scuffle, shower the man with punches and kicks as he runs home.
Another older man also attempts to pocket some of the tea. When he is discovered, he is relieved of his hat and wig, which are tossed into the harbor along with all the tea.
It takes about three hours for all the tea to be hauled up on deck and tossed into Boston Harbor. When they finish their back-breaking labor, the men who swarmed the ships are sure to leave them spic and span. They sweep the decks clean, return the keys to the captains, and quietly disperse to their homes.
The next day, one Bostonian returns to one of the ships with a padlock. He apologizes to the ship’s captain and hands it to him. Last night, they inadvertently broke a lock on the ship. Hopefully this will serve as an acceptable replacement.
It’s been going on for two hours now, the chanting, and the shouting, and the general chaos. The town clerk finally manages to quiet the crowd enough to shout out to them in full voice:
“Ye men of Ephesus!”
The shouts of “Great is Diana of the Ephesians” quiet down and the crowd leans in, willing to give this city official a hearing.
“…what man is there that knoweth not how that the city of the Ephesians is a worshipper of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter?” (Acts 19:35)
He has a point. Anyone that knows Ephesus knows that they worship Diana.
“Seeing then that these things cannot be spoken against, ye ought to be quiet, and to do nothing rashly.” (Acts 19:36)
He gestures at the Christians next to him who are the objects of all the hate spewing from this riotous crowd.
“For ye have brought hither these men, which are neither robbers of churches, nor yet blasphemers of your goddess.” (Acts 19:37)
It’s true. These men are not troublemakers or law-breakers. They are simply worshippers of another God, followers of a man named Jesus. They’ve done nothing to cause an uproar except living in the city and teaching their doctrines. The town clerk is able to appeal to the crowd on the basis of the upright reputation of these Christians. He convinces them to calm down and disperse to their homes. The crisis passes and Paul and his companions go on to live another day.
It’s a good thing those Christians had maintained a good reputation.
In 1 Peter 2, we are instructed to “Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men:” (1 Peter 2:13-15)
Every generation has its fair share of fools. And fools will always be looking for a chance to speak evil of those who follow Christ. We should do our best not to give them that chance. When our behavior is above reproach, we guard ourselves against many of the attacks of those intent on tearing us down.
If we are living godly lives, we will find ourselves facing times when we need to act out or speak out for the truth in opposition to society, but when we do, we should do so with honor and civility. When the attacks come, and they will, the fools will be silenced by our exemplary behavior.
When, because of our stand for truth, others call for our heads or look for a way to undermine our witness for Christ, may it be said of us what was said of the prophet Daniel. His enemies looked for some fault or failing in his life, but Scripture tells us “…they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.” (Daniel 6:4)
Christians are called to live to a higher standard so that by our good works we may silence the ignorance of fools.
Much ink has been spilled commenting on what has become known as the Boston Tea Party. But all those who speak evil of what the ragtag band of Bostonians did that night find it impossible to criticize their methods. They might disagree with what they did, but they have to admit that they behaved themselves well. They might have looked like vagrants, but they acted like gentlemen.
Want to learn more?
Read George Hewes’s first-hand account of the Boston Tea Party
Learn more about the Boston Tea Party from battlefields.org and the Boston Tea Party Museum
Exempla 