The Boston Tea Party was a key event that led to the American Revolution. On December 16, 1773, American colonists dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor to protest British taxation. This act of defiance against the British Parliament’s Tea Act was one of the first major rebellious acts of the American colonists and paved the way for the American Revolution. The Boston Tea Party and events surrounding it make for great historical riddles! Here are 43 riddles about the Boston Tea Party to test your knowledge of this iconic event.
Riddles About Why the Boston Tea Party Happened
Here are some riddles about the reasons behind and causes leading up to the Boston Tea Party:
1. I am a tax on tea imposed by the British Parliament that angered American colonists. What am I?
Answer: The Tea Act
2. We were a group of laws passed by the British Parliament after the French and Indian War that taxed goods like paper, paint, lead, glass, and tea entering the American colonies. What are we?
Answer: The Townshend Acts
3. I am an earlier tax that required American colonists to pay tax on printed materials like newspapers, licenses, and even playing cards. What am I?
Answer: The Stamp Act
4. I am a phrase that refers to the idea of “no taxation without representation” which American colonists protested, meaning the colonists wanted representation in Parliament if they were going to be taxed. What am I?
Answer: No taxation without representation
5. We were a secret society of American patriots who protested British taxation with acts like tarring and feathering tax collectors. Who are we?
Answer: The Sons of Liberty
Riddles About the Boston Tea Party Itself
Test your knowledge of how the historic act of defiance unfolded:
6. I am the city where the Boston Tea Party took place in 1773. What city am I?
Answer: Boston
7. I am the harbor where the colonists dumped the tea chests off of British ships. What harbor am I?
Answer: Boston Harbor
8. I am the number of British East India Company ships that had their cargo of tea dumped into the harbor. What number am I?
Answer: Three (the Dartmouth, the Eleanor, and the Beaver)
9. I am the number of chests of tea dumped into the harbor, totaling around 90,000 pounds of tea lost. What number am I?
Answer: 342
10. I organized and led the raid where colonists boarded the ships and dumped the tea. Who am I?
Answer: Samuel Adams
11. I am the Native American disguise worn by the colonists as they boarded the ships and destroyed the tea. What am I?
Answer: Mohawk disguise
12. I am the group the colonists mockingly imitated as they disguised themselves. Who am I?
Answer: Mohawk Native American tribe
13. I am the location where the colonists met to plan the Boston Tea Party raid before heading to the harbor. What location am I?
Answer: Old South Meeting House
14. I am the time of day when the Boston Tea Party raid took place under cover of darkness. What time am I?
Answer: Midnight
15. I am the date when the Boston Tea Party took place in 1773. What date am I?
Answer: December 16, 1773
Riddles About the Impact of the Boston Tea Party
These riddles cover the historical impact and aftermath of the Boston Tea Party:
16. I am the punitive law that closed the port of Boston and restricted local government in Massachusetts in retaliation for the Boston Tea Party. What law am I?
Answer: The Boston Port Act
17. We were four “Intolerable Acts” passed by the British Parliament to punish Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party. What are we?
Answer: The Coercive Acts
18. I am the British colony that stood in solidarity with Massachusetts by sending supplies after the Boston Port Act closed Boston’s port. What colony am I?
Answer: Connecticut Colony
19. I am the September 1774 meeting organized in response to the Intolerable Acts where the First Continental Congress convened to coordinate colonial resistance. What am I?
Answer: The First Continental Congress
20. I am the document affirming American rights and grievances sent to King George III after the First Continental Congress. What am I?
Answer: The Declaration of Rights and Grievances
21. I am the first major armed conflict between British troops and the American militia, fought on April 19, 1775, marking the start of the American Revolution. What am I?
Answer: The Battles of Lexington and Concord
Riddles About Famous People of the Boston Tea Party
Test your knowledge of key figures from the Boston Tea Party:
22. I am a Founding Father often credited with organizing the Boston Tea Party. Who am I?
Answer: Samuel Adams
23. I am a Founding Father and famous American patriot who participated in the Boston Tea Party as a teenager. Who am I?
Answer: Paul Revere
24. I am a Founding Father and signer of the Declaration of Independence who also participated in the Boston Tea Party. Who am I?
Answer: John Hancock
25. I am the Mohawk chief the disguised colonists claimed to be imitating at the Boston Tea Party. Who am I?
Answer: Chief Thayendanegea
26. I am the British Prime Minister at the time who responded to the Boston Tea Party by passing the Coercive Acts against Massachusetts. Who am I?
Answer: Lord North
27. I am the King of England at the time of the Boston Tea Party whose tea was destroyed. Who am I?
Answer: King George III
Riddles About Interesting Facts of the Boston Tea Party
Learn key trivia and intriguing facts surrounding the historic event:
28. I am the South Carolina merchant who offered to pay for the ruined tea to avoid backlash. Who am I?
Answer: Henry Laurens
29. I am the colony that refused to allow the tea-bearing ships to dock at their ports before they arrived in Boston. What colony am I?
Answer: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
30. True or false – the colonists avoided harming or stealing any property besides the tea during the Boston Tea Party raid.
Answer: True
31. I am the Black American patriot and martyr who was the first man killed in the Boston Massacre preceding the Boston Tea Party. Who am I?
Answer: Crispus Attucks
32. I am the location where some forgotten tea was later discovered months after the Boston Tea Party took place. What location am I?
Answer: The Dorchester Shores
33. I am the first colony to officially endorse and defend the Boston Tea Party after it occurred. What colony am I?
Answer: The Colony of Rhode Island
34. True or false – the colonists dressed up in blankets during the Boston Tea Party, not Mohawk disguises.
Answer: False
Riddles About Symbols of the Boston Tea Party
These riddles cover iconic symbols related to the historic act of rebellion:
35. I am a feathered hat commonly associated with the American colonist’s Mohawk disguises. What am I?
Answer: A three-pointed hat or tricorne hat
36. I am the beverage that was dumped into Boston Harbor, causing the escalation toward the Revolutionary War. What drink am I?
Answer: Tea
37. I am the body of water where the tea was dumped overboard. What harbor am I?
Answer: Boston Harbor
38. I am the type of lock the colonists picked to open the hatch to access the tea on the ship. What kind of lock am I?
Answer: Padlock
39. I am the ship that was the last to have its tea thrown overboard during the Boston Tea Party. What ship am I?
Answer: The Beaver
Riddles About Quotes of the Boston Tea Party
These riddles cover famous quotes from the revolutionary action:
40. “This meeting can do no more to save the country.” Who said this prior to the raid on the tea ships, urging the destruction of the tea?
Answer: Samuel Adams
41. “It is done.” Who said this after the Boston Tea Party raid was successfully completed?
Answer: Samuel Adams
42. “Boston Harbor a teapot tonight!” Who wrote this in their diary after witnessing the raids?
Answer: John Adams
43. “What a cup of tea we are making!” Who jokingly said this while dumping tea into the harbor?
Answer: A participant during the Boston Tea Party raid itself
Conclusion
The Boston Tea Party was a defiant act by American colonists and a major step toward the American Revolutionary War. These riddles cover important names, dates, facts, symbols, quotes and impacts of this iconic historical event. Testing your knowledge of the Boston Tea Party reinforces an understanding of the tensions that led American colonists to eventually declare independence from Britain. From the reasons the colonists opposed British taxation to how they boldly resisted by raiding tea ships in Boston Harbor, these riddles highlight interesting details surrounding this pivotal moment. Whether you are a student learning about it for the first time or someone who wants a quick refresher, these Boston Tea Party brain teasers engage and educate!
