Chris Hall — The Great Bengal Famine of 1770 and the Boston Tea Party

Chris Hall

The Great Bengal Famine of 1770 and the Boston Tea Party

There was far more behind the Boston Tea Party than just anger over taxes. Starting in 1769, the East India Company fomented a famine which led to the death of millions of Bengalese. News of this famine traveled across the Atlantic World, from Bengal to Boston, fostering distrust and outrage amongst Bostonians towards the East India Company and Parliament. This presentation will examine colonial Boston’s reaction to the Bengal famine of 1769-1773, and the role that this reaction played in escalating tensions, culminating in the Boston Tea Party in December 1773.